AMC Moving Forward With Red Mars

Posted on October 4, 2008

AMC is moving forward with a tv series based on the novel Red Mars.

"Mars," a 1992 novel by Kim Stanley Robinson, chronicles the inhabitants of the first human colony on the planet. Hensleigh ("Armageddon") is the writer and will executive produce alongside Michael Jaffe and Howard Braunstein of Jaffe Braunstein Entertainment ("The Memory Keeper's Daughter") and Vince Gerardis, Ralph Vicinanza and Eli Kirschner of Created By ("Jumper").

"This fits in with our bigger vision of wanting series that feel like cinematic one-hour movies," said Christina Wayne, senior vp original series and miniseries at AMC. "We're always looking for big genres but to do them in slightly different ways so they feel fresh and new," she added, noting as examples the network's Western mini "Broken Trail" and crime-themed series "Breaking Bad."

Jeremy Elice, vp original programming series, added that the project will be character-driven. "It's not the spectacle of sci-fi that you typically see," he said.

AMC has another great project in the works: the remake of the 1960s classic, The Prisoner. The Prisoner stars Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellen. Ian McKellan is great. But....Jim Caviezel? The guy that freaked out when he had to shoot a love scene with Jennifer Lopez because of his strict religious beliefs? That's going to take some work on his part. Because Patrick McGoohan was awesome in the role.Perhaps he's loosened up a bit since then. And it's not like The Prisoner had a lot of love scenes, anyway. Lots of bit white bubbles chasing the hero, but not much romance. In any event, AMC has our attention.

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