Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated writer-director Scott Frank has spent the last several years building some of the more acclaimed limited series on television, from “Godless” to “The Queen’s Gambit” to “Dept. Q.” But the filmmaker, also known for AMC’s “Monsieur Spade” series with Clive Owen, still sounds as drawn to prose as he is to scripts, and now his lone novel is headed for the screen, too.
Speaking on the Team Deakins podcast, Frank said that “Shaker,” his 2016 crime novel, has been bought by Netflix and is being developed as a limited series.
“I do [still feel that way], although ironically, Netflix just bought ‘Shaker’ to make it into a limited series,” Frank said when asked about his love of writing novels and his wish to find the time to pen more. “So you can’t get away from it. And I’ve been working on the sequel for a while. I’m hoping to finish it soon. And I wish I could. I so love writing books.”
Published in 2016, “Shaker” follows a hitman who finds himself caught in the middle of Los Angeles after an earthquake, a gang shooting, and a web of law enforcement attention, political pressure, and criminal fallout. Frank wrote the novel after decades as a screenwriter and filmmaker, with credits including “Out of Sight,” “Get Shorty,” “Minority Report,” “Logan,” “The Lookout,” “A Walk Among the Tombstones,” and “The Queen’s Gambit,” a smash hit that turned him into an instant TV auteur to follow.
As much as he would love to write more novels, the screen keeps pulling him back. Frank joked that “Shaker” has already found enough buyers to justify more prose.
“But three people bought ‘Shaker,’” he said. “So that’s why I’m writing a sequel. See if I can’t get it up to four.”
No release date, casting, or production timeline has been announced yet for “Shaker,” but given the level of talent Frank tends to attract—Anya Taylor-Joy for “The Queen’s Gambit,” Clive Owen for “Monsieur Spade,” Jeff Daniels and Jack O’Connell for “Godless,” and Matthew Goode for “Dept. Q,” to name just a few—it’s hard to imagine name actors won’t be circling the project soon. Listen to the full podcast below.
Rodrigo Perez is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Playlist, which he launched in 2008. He has worked in entertainment journalism since 2000, including at MTV, and has written for SPIN, IndieWire, Pitchfork, Complex, Magnet, and various music, film, and entertainment publications over the past two decades.
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
- Rodrigo Perez
