The Name of the Rose: TV Series

TV series remake: The Name of the Rose

An Italian TV adaptation of Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, starring Rupert Everett and John Turturro, has found an international distributor. Deadline reported that Germany's Tele Munchen Group "has acquired international rights outside of Italy for the eight-part series, commissioned by Italian public broadcaster Rai." The bestselling novel was previously adapted as a 1986 film directed by Jean-Jacques, starring Christian Slater and Sean Connery and Annaud.

Turturro stars as William of Baskerville with Everett playing Gui. The series is written by Andrea Porporati, Nigel Williams and Giacomo Battiato, with Battiato directing. Principal photography starts this January in Rome and on location around Lazio and Abruzzo. It is expected to air in the first quarter of 2019.

TMG managing director Herbert L. Kloiber said: "Umberto Eco's novel The Name of the Rose is a monumental masterpiece. We are thrilled to be part of this high-class, state-of-the-art adaptation, which will also resonate well with a young audience that loves the suspenseful story in a gloomy and thrilling medieval setting. Those who are already familiar with the book will see a new modern take and details to this multilayered story that can only be told in a series."

Janelle Brown's Watch Me Disappear optioned

Deadline reports that The Gotham Group has optioned Janelle Brown's suspense thriller Watch Me Disappear that debuted in July on the NYT bestseller's list at #13.

The Gotham Group Founder and CEO Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and Lindsay Williams are producing this one for the big screen. It was The Gotham’s Group track record of turning books into films that got Brown’s interest, the author said. “I’m thrilled to be working with Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and her team, whose intuitive understanding of my characters and their journey mean that the film adaptation of Watch Me Disappear will be something truly special,” said Janelle Brown whose book was published by Spiiegel & Grau. “I think audiences will find that the film is as much a roller coaster ride as the book.”

Watch Me Disappear begins with the death of the character Billie, a beautiful, charismatic, outdoorsy California mom who has come a long way from her reckless youth. She and her husband Jonathan seemingly have an enviable life with their daughter Olive. But one day on a solo hike, Billie vanishes from the trail. The only thing found is a hiking boot. She is presumed dead, but then a year after her Mom’s disappearance, Olive starts having “waking dreams” but not sure if they are hallucinations. She believes her mother is still alive as her father worries about his daughter’s mental health. However, once he unearths a secret, he begins his own quest for the truth.