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[RatskyWatsky]

HBO has given a pilot production commitment to Bad Robot and Warner Bros. TV for a series adaptation of the 1973 Yul Brynner cult classic “Westworld,” to be written and helmed by Jonathan Nolan.

Nolan is set to co-write the pilot script with Lisa Joy and direct the pilot. Nolan and Joy will serve as exec producers with Bad Robot’s J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk and Jerry Weintraub. The original pic was written and directed by Michael Crichton.

The HBO rendition of “Westworld” is described as “a dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the future of sin.” The pilot production commitment is a big one by HBO’s standards, indicated the depth of the pay cabler’s interest in the project.

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Casting so far:

Anthony Hopkins Boards J.J. Abrams' HBO Sci-Fi Pilot Westworld

- EW: 'Hunger Games,' 'Raising Hope' actors join HBO's 'Westworld'

- 'X-Men' actor James Marsden cast in 'Westworld'

Eddie Rouse & More Join HBO Drama Pilot ‘Westworld’

- EW: Ed Harris cast in HBO's 'Westworld'

Thandie Newton has joined Westworld.

@HBO is starting to tweet some teaser info.

Also, this Vine claims it's coming in 2015(?)

Oh, there it goes:

- THR: HBO's Star-Studded 'Westworld' Adaptation Ordered to Series

It's official: HBO is moving forward with its Westworld adaptation.

The drama, based on Michael Crichton's 1973 film and written by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, stars Anthony Hopkins in his first series-regular role as an inventor who runs an adult amusement park populated by lifelike robots. HBO made the announcement Monday via Twitter, with the series coming in 2015.

The drama hails from J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk's Warner Bros. Television-based Bad Robot Productions, with the duo exec producing alongside Jerry Weintraub,Nolan (who directed the pilot)and Joy. Kathy Lingg will co-EP and Athena Wickham is a producer on the drama. David Coatsworth is set as a co-EP and line producer, with Susie Ekins set as a co-producer. Westworld hails from Bad Robot, Jerry Weintraub Productions and Kilter Films.

Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the show's androids — played by castmembers including James Marsden, Evan Rachel Wood and Thandie Newton — can be killed off and return with completely different personas, allowing actors to play many characters.
That creative device, one top talent agent said, helped HBO attract a premier cast (which also includes Ed Harris, Miranda Otto and Jeffrey Wright). And unlike the actors on such anthology series as FX's American Horror Story and HBO's own True Detective, which reboot themselves every season, the cast of Westworld is signing multiyear deals.

"This is built as a series and, in terms of storytelling, I think the rules are definitely being broken," HBO programming president Michael Lombardo told THRin August of the sci-fi Western from executive producers J.J. Abrams, Jerry Weintraub and Bryan Burk. "The promise of the show, in terms of where it's going, is exciting to actors, and they want to be a part of this."

Westworld becomes HBO's second drama from Warner Bros. Television, joining Damon Lindelof's adaptation ofThe Leftovers (which has already been renewed). The cabler recently passed over Ryan Murphy's sexuality drama pilot Open, from 20th Century Fox Television.

Westworld is HBO's first project with Bad Robot, which also produces CBS' Person of Interest and Hulu's upcoming event series 11/22/63. The banner recently saw the demise of Revolution, Almost Human and Believe. Abrams' credits include Fringe, Alcatraz and Lost. He's currently prepping Star Wars: Episode VII as well as the next installments in the Mission: Impossible and Star Trek franchises. Abrams' Bad Robot is also prepping a miniseries based on Rod Serling's (The Twilight Zone) final and unproduced screenplay, The Stops Along the Way. A network is not yet attached.

For HBO, Westworld comes as the network recently said farewell to True Blood, and is wrapping the final seasons of Emmy darling Boardwalk Empire and Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom. Westworld joins an HBO drama roster that also includes Game of Thrones, The Leftovers, True Detective and Utopia.

 

[TheOddOne]

Sort of want.

Whats the deal with all these old movies being remade as TV series? Jeez, Hollywood.

 

[strafer]

Michael Crichton you say? Done.

 

[The Lamonster]

Great film. Crichton also wrote Twister, btw.

 

[GhostWriter24]

Robots? Robots.

 

[JdFoX187]

Ugh...not really sure about this. Can't be any worse than Futureworld, right? Right?

 

[RatskyWatsky]

This is one of the biggest pilot commitments ever for HBO, btw.

Robots? Robots.

Made by Bad Robot! :O

 

[Archer]

nice.

the yul brynner movie from back in the day is a classic.

 

[AkuMifune]

It's a great idea, but whomever is cast in the Yul Brynner role will be a disappointment.

It's impossible to surpass the badassness of the original terminator.

 

[strafer]

Great film. Crichton also wrote Twister, btw.

Food.

 

[Sobriquet]

Wrong Nolan.

 

[MilesWebber]

Futureworld > Westworld.

Deal with it.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

good lord Abrams is everywhere!

 

[Pizza Luigi]

I thought there was already a Westworld series somewhere in the 80's.

Ah well, from the guy who brought us Jurassic Park (the story, at least), a story about another theme park. And Nolan (Jonathan especially) attached, is pretty cool.

Will Michael Caine play Gunslinger?

 

[JdFoX187]

Futureworld > Westworld.

Deal with it.

No. Will not deal with it. Awful movie.

 

[Forsaken82]

Wrong Nolan.

You do realize that Jonathan Nolan is responsible for most of the scripts that Christopher has directed right and how often is it the script or story that is viewed as problems with his movies?

 

[Orbis Tabula]

Technically true on the Nolan bit, but still sort of misleading.

You do realize that Jonathan Nolan is responsible for most of the scripts that Christopher has directed right?

True, but ask ten movie goers who Nolan is and nine will say Christopher.

 

[Funky Papa]

The original movie is so inherently 70's it's hard to imagine how they are going to make this work.

http://youtu.be/LcL3eP0Hfy4

You have to recognize it has some spectacular vintage.

 

[Guerrillas in the Mist]

Ah, the American Nolan brother, not the British one. Makes sense as he and Abrams worked together on Person of Interest.

 

[maquiladora]

It's HBO. Cool.

 

[Sobriquet]

You do realize that Jonathan Nolan is responsible for most of the scripts that Christopher has directed right?

Of course.

 

[Forsaken82]

Technically true on the Nolan bit, but still sort of misleading.



True, but ask ten movie goers who Nolan is and nine will say Christopher.

Depends on who and where you ask. You ask 10 people here on gaf, I bet you 9 will say which one.

 

[Blader]

You do realize that Jonathan Nolan is responsible for most of the scripts that Christopher has directed right and how often is it the script or story that is viewed as problems with his movies?

Both Nolans write and rewrite each script, the distinction is kind of arbitrary.

 

[MilesWebber]

No. Will not deal with it. Awful movie.

 

[Rookje]

Crichton left us too soon.

 

[Messofanego]

I just watched Westworld like two months ago, it was awesome.

We need 70s Christian Bale.

 

[FStop7]

One of my favorite films, but is there really a series to be found in this?

Sometimes I think James Cameron secretly watched bits of Westworld in his trailer between takes during the filming of The Terminator.

 

[sans_pants]

You do realize that Jonathan Nolan is responsible for most of the scripts that Christopher has directed right and how often is it the script or story that is viewed as problems with his movies?

The scripts are nothing special. Cool ideas that get real cliche in the details

 

[Doctor Decimate]

for a moment i read "Waterworld" and was very concerned

i'll give it a shot, though more for HBO than anything else. Person of Interest hasn't really grabbed me from these initial four episodes except for a handful of badass moments.

 

[The Lamonster]

Food.

hmm?

 

[strafer]

hmm?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bVpPkCxXj8

 

[isamu]

We need 70s Christian Bale.

^^LOL...I actually thought that was Bale in that pic above until I went to IMDB and discovered it's James Brolin.

 

[TronLight]

Jonathan Nolan? Awwww yisss.

J.J. Abrams? Ewwww no.

^^LOL...I actually thought that was Bale in that pic above until I went to IMDB and discovered it's James Brolin.

isamu
OMFG HOLY MOTHER OF MARY IN HEAVEN I CANT BELIEVE IT WTF WHERE ARE MY SEDATIVES AAAAHHH
(Today, 12:28 AM)

Spoiler

I thought the same

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

for a moment i read "Waterworld" and was very concerned

i'll give it a shot, though more for HBO than anything else. Person of Interest hasn't really grabbed me from these initial four episodes except for a handful of badass moments.

to be quite honest, now that you mention it, a 'walking dead' type survival show with rising water levels takes my interest much more than remaking a plot that spanned only one novel / movie and had a limited space.

What exactly is this 'show' going to be about? Caprica 2.0? sorry, but I don't see it.

The same would happen with a JP series btw. Unless the context wasn't the park (or the 'shit meets fan' endpoint) but the road to it, which bring us back to Caprica and how awful that concept really is, because nobody gives a shit about "the road towards the shitstorm".
See also: Star Wars...

 

[Dan]

I don't know how the hell you take this concept and make it a TV series, without taking it so far away from what defined Westworld that you might as well not use the name.

good lord Abrams is everywhere!

It's easy to be everywhere when you do jack shit on most of the TV projects. It's basically, set up the initial meeting between the actual writer and the studio, and approve the casting. Proceed to collect fat checks.

 

[Blader]

Jonathan Nolan? Awwww yisss.

J.J. Abrams? Ewwww no.

JJ is just producing, which means doing absolutely nothing.

 

[awilliams213]

I'm intrigued this is an interesting attempt by HBO

 

[Ashok]

Bad Robot? This project has my full attention.

 

[King Allant]

eh, not feeling anything from this. Though it might be decent

 

[SmithnCo]

Could work as a series. Definitely interested.

 

[Tesseract]

man i don't like any of these hotshot directors. we should clone kubrick and start over.

 

[Dan]

man i don't like any of these hotshot directors. we should clone kubrick and start over.

Wrong Nolan.

 

[FourMyle]

Great film. Crichton also wrote Twister, btw.

Crichton wrote like half of all the mega movies from the 90s, lol.

 

[White Man]

Always wondered why this hasn't been remade before now.

The sequel really ain't bad, either, aside from being kinda cheap looking.

 

[Jarmel]

So would this be Nolan's first foray into TV directing?

 

[White Man]

The original movie is so inherently 70's it's hard to imagine how they are going to make this work.

http://youtu.be/LcL3eP0Hfy4

You have to recognize it has some spectacular vintage.

They should set it in the 70s.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

So would this be Nolan's first foray into TV directing?

Johnathan Nolan? No. I believe he's directed at least one episode of Person of Interest.

 

[Cptkrush]

As cool as this will be, they should have just stuck with the Dark Tower

 

[ZedIndyLil]

This could be really good, as long as they don't delve too deeply into current scifi tropes and seek out their own vibe.

 

[Brian Fellows]

Never heard of the original but I'm down to give it a shot.