Person Of Interest

[:eek:]

If pedigree alone were enough to get a TV show greenlit, this next project would be a slam dunk: J.J. Abrams is currently shopping a crime-thriller series created by Jonah Nolan, brother and frequent collaborator of The Dark Knight/Inception auteur Christopher Nolan.
This would mark the first small-screen foray for Nolan, who not only co-wrote The Dark Knight and The Prestige but penned the short story on which Memento was based.
According to an insider, one network is extremely interested in the untitled project. My hunch is, it won’t be the only one.
All in all, it’s shaping up to be a busy development season for Bad Robot boss Abrams, who is also pitching an Alcatraz-set drama series written by fellow Lost producer Elizabeth Sarnoff.

 

[Prison Mike]

sounds good to me!

 

[Crockett]

I'm very eager to know more.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Oh, I'm SO ****ing IN! Consider my ass watching it premiere night.

 

[Nightwing 52]

Abrams? A Nolan? Crime Thriller? This has win written all over it. Count me in.

 

[Sawyer]

*Sees the names Abrams and Nolan in the same sentence*

*goes into convulsions*

 

[flickchick85]

Now THIS is a new show I can get excited about! I'm just gonna cringe though when they're promoting as being from Abrams and "the co-writer of The Dark Knight," and all the non-geek TV viewers are gonna assume it's the same hack (imo) who brought them Flashforward. If only they could say, "from the good co-writer of The Dark Knight."

 

[Brother Jack]

This is the best TV news I've heard since The Walking Dead.

 

[Aesop Rocks]

I wonder what network it'll air on.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Now THIS is a new show I can get excited about! I'm just gonna cringe though when they're promoting as being from Abrams and "the co-writer of The Dark Knight," and all the non-geek TV viewers are gonna assume it's the same hack (imo) who brought them Flashforward. If only they could say, "from the good co-writer of The Dark Knight."

Now now. Goyer doesn't get enough credit he deserves. He wrote Batman Begins. Which has a pretty great script. He also co-wrote the TDK story with Nolan.

 

[Sawyer]

I wonder what network it'll air on.

Why, The CW, of course.

 

[flickchick85]

Now now. Goyer doesn't get enough credit he deserves. He wrote Batman Begins. Which has a pretty great script. He also co-wrote the TDK story with Nolan.

Oh Doc, you know we've had this conversation before. When I read Goyer's original draft of BB back when it leaked all over the internet like a year before the movie came out, I thought the movie would be crap. The changes Nolan made were sparse, but essential to what eventually became a good movie (still his weakest, imo, script-wise). Based on ALL of Goyer's prior work, the most logical conclusion for me to draw from his "story" credit is that all he contributed to TDK was his knowledge of the characters from the comics. And IMO, the #1 reason TDK had such a better screenplay than BB is because Goyer's involvement was significantly lessened. Because the only time he's involved with anything remotely good, it's becaused he's involved with superior creative talent (Nolans, Proyas), and when that talent does the actual screenplay themselves, rather than him, the product is a better movie. I've seen zero evidence to suggest otherwise.

 

[Sawyer]

I cant wait to find out plot details for this thing. With these two men behind it, it's bound to be something pretty extraordinary.

 

[Shifty]

Hopefully its cable so there would be 10-13 episodes a season. Going to network could water things down. However with these two involved it will likely be a bidding war between the networks and HBO.

 

[Aesop Rocks]

It should be on AMC!

 

[Sawyer]

This should clearly be on ABC Family.

 

[Catman]

I wonder what network it'll air on.

If they're pitching the show NOW then it's most likely gonna be a cable show.

 

[Shifty]

It should be on AMC!

My first thought. The Walking Dead almost went to NBC.

If they're pitching the show NOW then it's most likely gonna be a cable show.

Networks are shifting to next year, they have the most money, they'll take pitches anytime of year. Plus J.J. has always produced or created shows for the networks. Long history with ABC (Alias, Lost, What About Brian, Six Degrees, plus a few more never picked up) and they'll back the money truck up for a potential hit.
J.J. has current relationships with NBC and Fox. CBS has limited real estate but if its a show like Fringe, procedural/serial, I could see CBS going for it in hopes of a younger audience and a potential replacement for CSI.

Could also depend where the Alcatraz show he's producing ends up, also interested in that. Look forward to more details.

 

[Batman713]

It should be on AMC!

That would be superawesome. AMC's already a powerhouse with Breaking Bad, Rubicon, Mad Men and The Walking Dead. Imagine a Nolan/Abrams production added to the mix.

 

[Aesop Rocks]

J.J has a pretty decent relationship with ABC and FOX, and ABC will most likely beg J.J to come back home.

 

[Sawyer]

ABC could probably use someone like him since their network currently seems to be dripping with estrogen.

 

[Aesop Rocks]

Since their network is currently sucking.

 

[Sawyer]

Well, I figured that part was implied.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Oh Doc, you know we've had this conversation before. When I read Goyer's original draft of BB back when it leaked all over the internet like a year before the movie came out, I thought the movie would be crap. The changes Nolan made were sparse, but essential to what eventually became a good movie (still his weakest, imo, script-wise). Based on ALL of Goyer's prior work, the most logical conclusion for me to draw from his "story" credit is that all he contributed to TDK was his knowledge of the characters from the comics. And IMO, the #1 reason TDK had such a better screenplay than BB is because Goyer's involvement was significantly lessened. Because the only time he's involved with anything remotely good, it's becaused he's involved with superior creative talent (Nolans, Proyas), and when that talent does the actual screenplay themselves, rather than him, the product is a better movie. I've seen zero evidence to suggest otherwise.

Have we? I don't remember.

But if the script is the weakest of Nolan, then Nolan gets as much blame as Goyer for the flaws of BB. Nolan is the director. He has the say of what goes and what stays. The last half being weaker than the first half is Nolan's fault just as it is Goyer's. Same with some of the over used recurring lines in the film, which is all Nolan.

I mean Goyer and Nolan should both get credit. I've read his script. Nolan changed some dialogue and a couple scenes, but other than that, Goyer's script is the film. Nolan had Goyer's screenplay to go off on in the first place. He didn't scrap everything he wrote in favor of his own draft. He kept Goyer's and made some improvements, as any script process goes.

I just hate it when people just blame BB's flaws on Goyer when Nolan is as much to blame.

 

[flickchick85]

Have we? I don't remember.

But if the script is the weakest of Nolan, then Nolan gets as much blame as Goyer for the flaws of BB. Nolan is the director. He has the say of what goes and what stays. The last half being weaker than the first half is Nolan's fault just as it is Goyer's. Same with some of the over used recurring lines in the film, which is all Nolan.

I mean Goyer and Nolan should both get credit. I've read his script. Nolan changed some dialogue and a couple scenes, but other than that, Goyer's script is the film. Nolan had Goyer's screenplay to go off on in the first place. He didn't scrap everything he wrote in favor of his own draft. He kept Goyer's and made some improvements, as any script process goes.

I just hate it when people just blame BB's flaws on Goyer when Nolan is as much to blame.

I never said Nolan wasn't also to blame. But the bad writing came from Goyer. That much was clear when reading the script. It was Nolan's fault for keeping so much of it, but that doesn't mean Goyer is any less a terrible writer for coming up with it in the first place. I've just never seen ANYTHING that Goyer himself wrote that was any good. Period. In fact, I pretty much find most of it to be godawful. I'm a do-the-math kind of girl - when a guy like Goyer makes a career worth of crap, then suddenly finds his name attached to a couple of gems, and those gems just happen to be creative collaborations with guys who've alternatively proven to be gem-factories, then yeah, I draw what is in my mind the only logical conclusion and assign credit where I believe it belongs: to the other guys. Because based on their prior work, Goyer is obviously the weak link, imo. Not to mention he and Nolan have very different writing styles, so it's pretty easy to tell whose writing we're witnessing. And just like you hate when people blame BB's flaws on Goyer, I hate it when he gets credited for TDK's success. So we're kind of on opposite sides of the same coin, lol. And I'm not gonna be flipping sides any time soon - I've seen more of Goyer's work than I ever cared to (or cared to admit), and I feel like I have more than enough evidence to support my case.

Honestly, he is quite possibly my very least-favorite "major" writer in all of Hollywood. He's one of the few Hollywood writers that I genuinely believe I could write better than. And I would never presume to call myself a writer. Not by a long shot. That's just how terrible I find his writing to be.

But this thread is supposed to be a celebration. Nolan and Abrams! What's not to love? And on the network discussion, let's not forget that Abrams also has a burgeoning relationship with NBC now (with the Undercovers show), so I think they are also a strong possibility. And I don't think I even need to start describing how much they need a hit, lol.