From Big Screen to Small Screen
Movies based on hit television shows have become commonplace over the years, but the 2016-17 television season is seeing the shoe on the other foot with hit movies becoming the foundation of several new series. Warner Bros. Television, one of the industry’s leading suppliers of network programming, is leading the charge this fall (and in the new year) with five such series based on films from the '70s, '80s and 2000s. Here are the five new series and their trailers, as well as their theatrical counterparts from the illustrious Warner Bros. Film Library, which are all currently available on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital.
Lethal Weapon (the Series)
Lethal Weapon reboots the hit movie franchise, as it follows the classic cop duo of Martin Riggs (Clayne Crawford) and Roger Murtaugh (Damon Wayans, Sr.), who are working a crime-ridden beat in modern-day Los Angeles. The series premieres Wednesday, September 21 at 8/7c on FOX.
Lethal Weapon (the Movie)
Mel Gibson and Danny Glover would go on to complete four Lethal Weapon films between 1987-1998, resulting in nearly $1 billion at the worldwide box office. The first film remains a "buddy/cop" classic to this day with its perfect blend of rapid-fire comedy and high-octane action.
Westworld (the Series)
Bad Robot Productions, Jerry Weintraub Productions and Kilter Films in association with Warner Bros. Television are bringing out the big guns for this new HBO series which features a stellar cast including Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden and Thandie Newton. The series premieres Sunday, October 2 at 9:00pm on HBO.
Westworld (the Movie)
The late great novelist, screenwriter, director, producer Michael Crichton made his directorial debut with this iconic 1973 sci-fi thriller about a theme park where visitors can experience life among humanoid androids in time periods lost to history. Richard Benjamin, James Brolin and Yul Brynner (as the android gunslinger run amok) starred in the film which was also the first movie to ever use CGI (although it was only known as 2D digital image processing at the time).
Frequency (the Series)
Based on the New Line feature film, Frequency gets a slight twist as it's now the story of NYPD officer Frank Sullivan (Riley Smith) and his daughter Raimy (Peyton List) who are supernaturally reunited two decades after his suspicious and untimely death. Twenty years later, Raimy is stunned when a voice suddenly crackles through her father’s old, long-broken ham radio—it’s Frank, somehow transmitting over the airwaves and through the decades from 1996. The series premieres Wednesday, October 5 at 9/8c on The CW.
Frequency (the Movie)
Written by Toby Emmerich, now the President/COO of New Line Cinema, this sci-fi/thriller sleeper hit of 2000 starred Dennis Quaid (as the father) and Person of Interest's Jim Caviezel (as the son and NYPD detective), and has grown in stature and popularity over the past fifteen years since its release.
Time After Time (the Series)
Using the 1979 novel and movie as a launching point, Time After Time chronicles the epic adventures of young 19th Century scholar H.G. Wells (Freddie Stroma) who has created a time machine only to have his friend—the charismatic (and secretly psychopathic) John Stevenson, aka Jack the Ripper (Josh Bowman) use it to escape to present-day New York City. Naturally, Wells follows, but instead of the Utopia he imagined, he finds a world more aligned to Stevenson's temperament. Fortunately, Wells meets up with Jane Walker (Genesis Rodriguez), an assistant curator at a museum staging an H.G. Wells Exhibition. Coming in 2017 to ABC.
Time After Time (the Movie)
An absolute favorite of cinematic time-traveling aficionados, this 1979 film starred Malcom McDowell as the displaced Wells, Mary Steenburgen as his 20th Century love interest (a romance that moved off-screen as well when the two actors were married the following year), and David Warner as the deranged homicidal maniac. All three were nominated for Saturn Awards (the sci-fi world's Oscar equivalent) with Steenburgen winning for "Best Actress" and writer/director Nicholas Meyer winning for "Best Writing."
Training Day (the Series)
A reimagining of the groundbreaking film of the same name explores a modern-day Los Angeles in all its guts and glory. Executive produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Antoine Fuqua (director of the original film), writer Will Beall, Barry Schindel, Jonathan Littman and director Danny Cannon, Training Day features a dynamic ensemble of actors, including Justin Cornwell as the rookie cop assigned to the S.I.S. (Special Investigation Section) in order to expose the corruption of veteran cop and head of S.I.S. Frank Rourke (played by Bill Paxton). Coming in 2017 to CBS.
Training Day (the Movie)
Denzel Washington picked up the "Best Actor" Oscar for his performance as the corrupt narco cop who demonstrates his corruption with pride to his rookie partner (Ethan Hawke) on his first day of training on the mean streets of South Central Los Angeles. Hawke received an Oscar nom for his performance as well.