16/10/2009

Veteran British director Ridley Scott has added another project to his already overflowing slate. He is slated to direct the film adaptation of the critically acclaimed Channel 4 miniseries Red Riding.

The series is based on the novels 1974, 1977, 1980 and 1983 by David Peace and deals with child murders and rampant police corruption set against the backdrop of the Yorkshire Ripper case. The Channel 4 adaptation consisted of three films from scripts by Tony Grisoni – 1974 by Julian Jarrold (Brideshead Revisited [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), 1980 by James Marsh (Man on Wire [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) and 1983 by Anand Tucker (And When Did You Last See Your Father? [+see also:
trailer
film profile]). 1977 was written but not made due to budgetary constraints. The series is set for a theatrical release in several territories including France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and the US.

Academy award winning writer Steven Zaillian, who earlier collaborated with Scott on Hannibal and American Gangster, has been roped in to do the film adaptation, which will relocate the story to the US. Columbia Pictures has acquired the rights to the series and the Peace novels. Andrew Eaton, who produced the series for Channel 4 will co-produce for Revolution Films along with Scott (Scott Free Productions) and Zaillian (Film Rites).

Scott is currently in post-production on his Robin Hood film and is attached to direct the Alien prequel and The Kind One. He is also a producer on Emma’s War, Sidney Hall, The Low Dweller, The A-Team and Welcome to the Rileys. Besides these, he has Brave New World, In Vitro, The Forever War, The Killing Sea, Town House, The Passage, Stones, Child 44 [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Factor X an untitled Monopoly board game film, and an untitled Reagan/Gorbachev film in development.