Magicians Fight Hitler For HBO

HBO was the first cable network to really put a lot of effort into truly original programming and for years they were ahead of the curve. Between shows like "The Sopranos," "Six Feet Under," "Deadwood" and "The Wire," the network was second to none when it came to quality programming.

In recent years the network has been just as strong, with shows like "True Blood," Boardwalk Empire" and the upcoming "Game of Thrones" and according to Entertainment Weekly they are developing another uniquely original show.

According to the site HBO is reportedly developing "Hobgoblin", a period drama series involving illusionists during the WWII era. The story follows a group of con men and magicians who battle Hitler and the Nazis during WWII, using their powers of deception to outwit the Third Reich.

Michael Chabon ("Wonder Boys") and Ayelet Waidman ("Bad Mother") are attached to the project, which is in early development.

While magicians might not be the first thing to come to mind when thinking of fighting the Third Reich, if anyone knows how to handle it is Chabon. He is easily one of, if not the best American authors out there and his book "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" was a Pulitzer Prize winner and featured a main character who had magician's skills and took place during the same WWII era.

While the show is in early development it will definitely be something to keep an eye on because Chabon's involved. The idea of the story sounds totally unique and could turn out to be a surprise hit for HBO in the future.

Lawrence In Talks For Zamperini Biopic

Olympic athlete. American war hero. Plane crash survivor. The story practically writes itself, how could this not be a movie? After suffering for years in development limbo, it looks like Louis Zamperini may finally get the feature film treatment he deserves.

According to Deadline Francis Lawrence is in talks to direct the long-gestating biopic of Zamperini for Universal.

The film will be based on author Laura Hillenbrand's recent release, "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption". Hillenbrand is no stranger to having her books adapted for the screen, she also wrote the book "Seabiscuit" for which the movie of the same name was based on.

Zamperini was an Olympic athlete in 1936 and joined the Air Force in World War II as a bombardier, but his plane crashed and he spent 47 days lost at sea before the Japanese Navy rescued him and placed him in a POW camp where he was tortured.

Universal bought Zamperini’s life rights way back in 1957 and has been trying to develop the film for decades. At one point Tony Curtis was going to star, while Brad Pitt and Nicolas Cage have previously tried to produce the film over the years to no avail.

"Crazy Heart" director Scott Cooper is being looked at for writing a new adaptation for the studio while Matthew Baer and Erwin Stoff will produce.

Zamperini has lived quite the amazing life, and his film should translate to the silver screen beautifully.

"Sgt. Rock" Ditches WWII For The Future

Producer Joel Silver tells The Los Angeles Times that the long-gestating comic book adaptation "Sgt. Rock" has moved into a higher gear.

According to the LA Times: Sgt Rock Producer Joel Silver says the long-discussed Hollywood adaptation of the "Sgt. Rock" combat comic books has new life -- but the leader of Easy Company won't be fighting the good fight in 1940s Europe this time around.

Silver said the plan now is for the old warhorse of DC Comics to serve his country in the not-too-distant future. Part of the reason it seems is that Silver just received a new draft of the script this week and the story will not be set during World War II.

Said Silver: "It's a little bit in the future. As a war movie, it's not going to be 'where it's been,' it's going to be 'where it's going.' We didn't want to do Iraq, we didn't want to do a contemporary war. We wanted to do a sort of futuristic war."

In the 1980s, Arnold Schwarzenegger was prepared to play the G.I. hero, and John Milius and David Peoples had a script together that would have changed the soldier's heritage to explain the action star's Austrian accent.

That project petered out but Rock's name came up again as a film property, most notably when director Guy Ritchie was planning on directing a version set in World War II with Silver as producer and, it was rumored, Bruce Willis in the title role. That was the plan as recently as 2008. But now, with the new script in hand, things have changed.

Silver added: "It's pretty strong. Chad St. John wrote the script and we've got Francis Lawrence involved in developing it with us. It's not a 'go' movie yet but I'm feeling good about it."

Although I think the WWII era is the perfect backdrop for any Hollywood project, it might serve this franchise better to move it into the future. With the character of “Sgt. Rock” recently celebrating a 50th anniversary, it might be time to update the look and feel for a new generation. With most of the youth out there a bit unfamiliar with the original character, this change may turn out to be for the better,

The film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.