The common advice given to writers is “write what you know,” but in Hollywood that advice has been tweaked a little bit. Over at Team Downey, the adage seems to be “develop what you know,” and they’re doing just that.
Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey are behind a new, untitled Showtime series set in 1980s Venice Beach, that will follow various lives in the rehab/therapy community. And given RDJ’s own brushes with scandal, sex and addiction, this is territory he knows well. And the Downey team have made a smart hire, tapping Gary Lennon of “Orange Is The New Black” fame to pen the script and executive produce. As always television projects can face a tricky road, but this one seems off to the right start.
Meanwhile, Bryan Cranston is putting into motion “Dangerous Book For Boys” via his Moon Shot Entertainment banner. The quasi how-to book by Conn and Hal Iggulden will be turned into a narrative about three boys growing up without their father, using their imagination to get by. But in case you’re curious, here’s the Amazon synopsis:
The bestselling book for every boy from eight to eighty, covering essential boyhood skills such as building tree houses*, learning how to fish, finding true north, and even answering the age old question of what the big deal with girls is.
In this digital age there is still a place for knots, skimming stones and stories of incredible courage. This book recaptures Sunday afternoons, stimulates curiosity, and makes for great father-son activities. The brothers Conn and Hal have put together a wonderful collection of all things that make being young or young at heart fun—building go-carts and electromagnets, identifying insects and spiders, and flying the world’s best paper airplanes.
The completely revised American Edition includes:
The Greatest Paper Airplane in the World
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The Five Knots Every Boy Should Know
Stickball
Slingshots
Fossils
Building a Treehouse*
Making a Bow and Arrow
Fishing (revised with US Fish)
Timers and Tripwires
Baseball’s “Most Valuable Players”
Famous Battles-Including Lexington and Concord, The Alamo, and Gettysburg
Spies-Codes and Ciphers
Making a Go-Cart
Navajo Code Talkers’ Dictionary
Girls
Cloud Formations
The States of the U.S.
Mountains of the U.S.
Navigation
The Declaration of Independence
Skimming Stones
Making a Periscope
The Ten Commandments
Common US Trees
Timeline of American History
Moon Shot has a first look deal with Sony TV, so they’ll put their eyes on the project initially and we’ll see where it goes from there. [Deadline/Variety]
