Remember When Legal Thrillers

Topped Bestseller, Box Office Lists?

In the 1990s John Grisham could do no wrong, and his books The Firm, A Time To Kill, The Pelican Brief, and The Rainmaker sold millions of copies of books and movie tickets. At the same time we had Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent [yes, it was published in 1987, but the film was released in 1990] and the Jack Nicholson/ Tom Cruise classic A Few Good Men, based on a play by Aaron Sorkin. I mention all this because at a panel discussion at Boucheron a few weeks ago, a speaker mentioned that the legal thriller genre has fallen out of favor. What? I asked myself, a question followed quickly by “why? Thus, I found it interesting when I read an article written by Gabriella Paiella in GQ last week, that echoed my thinking. “Today, the genre has all but disappeared,” she says. “As TV became ascendent, these sorts of adult dramas were relegated to series, but in the ‘90s, conditions for these movies could not have been more ideal. As soon as John Grisham pumped out a new book, the rights were sold, and it was guaranteed to become a film that grossed massive numbers at the box office. Most of these were made in the $40 million range and earned upwards of $100 to $200 million.” Likewise, producer John Davis, who bought the rights to The Firm immediately after reading an advanced copy, recalls, “That was a time when people would take risks [and] you would do something that felt interesting. Now we're living in a time of high concept. That was a period of interesting concept and that was really freeing and excellent and wonderful, and I hope that comes back.”

REVIEW

A Haunting In Venice May Be The

Best of Branagh’s Hercule Poirot Films

Several weeks ago, I watched the trailer for Kenneth Branagh’s new Agatha Christie adaptation A Haunting In Venice, which was released last Friday [September 15]. While I found his Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile a bit tedious, I’m impressed by his honest on-screen portrayal of Hercule Poirot and his attention to the mindset and colloquial mannerisms of the “grand dame’s” original mysteries. Based on the somewhat obscure novel Hallowe’en Party, the film begins in Venice in 1947, where Poirot has retired to live out his years alone. The former detective now just wants to tend to his garden and eat pastries, but his routine is interrupted by an old friend named Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey) who wants him to come to a séance, hosted by a famous medium who, she says, seems to be the real deal. Since I have yet to see the film, I turned to a recent Crime Reads review, in which Olivia Rutigliano says, “A Haunting in Venice is not a prequel but it is given that treatment. It has almost nothing to do with the other two films, and functions as a re-introduction. But more interesting than how it factors into Branagh’s Poirot universe is how it really, truly builds a universe at all. The previous two films were not terrible, but the best part about [Haunting] is its craft. It is a veritable carnival of wide-angle, high-angle, and close-up shots—feats of camera positioning that feel as inquisitive as they do ominous. The camera roves and roams over all the figures in its purview— capturing a landscape of faces and gestures and rooms, turning everything into a fabric of mystery and unknowability.”

The Most Expensive Deleted Scene

Ever Shot—And Cut—From A Movie

Hollywood is notorious for spending money, making money, and losing money. And, in more than a few cases, totally wasting money. Millions of dollars virtually spiraled down the drain during the production of Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam war flick Apocalypse Now, as budgets went wildly off-track as Marlon Brando created expensive issues that had to be dealt with. And let’s not forget the 1982 film Fitzcarralodo, the shooting of which led director Werner Herzog to demand that an entire ship be hauled over the mountains, at great expense. Neither of these films, however, compares to the 2013 zombie flick World War Z starring Brad Pitt, which reportedly had the most expensive scene ever deleted in cinema history. As noted by Calum Russell in Farout Magazine, “The action-orientated horror flick told the story of a former United Nations employee named Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) who travels the world to try and prevent a zombie pandemic from utterly destroying humanity. The book on which it was based was a dense political thriller, with director Marc Forster attempting to recreate its exact tone and feeling." Reshoots were ordered due to the fact that the initial ending was too political, confusing, and controversial, and that process cost $25million, making it the most expensive scene ever to eventually be deleted. The final budget was estimated to have reached $269 million, and the movie went on to earn $540.5 million worldwide. Only the lawyers and bean-counters know if it was worth the expense in the long run, but it actually was a pretty decent flick. And I don’t care for zombies.

Bingeworthy New Mysteries And

Thrillers To Stream This Fall

One of the “ripple effects” of the ongoing screenwriters and actors strikes in Hollywood is the likelihood of a long drought of new programming in the months to come. While many shows have been put on hold or cancelled altogether until the work stoppage has ended, others already in post-production have been slated for release this fall. To help you navigate through the Dardanelles of new series and returning hit shows, Murder-Mayhem’s Michael Seidlinger compiled a guide to bingeworthy programs to stream, before the streaming river runs dry. Some of them include:

The Continental: From the World of John Wick: Can the John Wick universe be compelling from the eyes of someone who isn’t John Wick? We’re about to find out. This series introduces viewers to an alternate 1970s in telling the backstory of franchise character Winston Scott.

Burning Body: It’s 2017 and a burned body is found in a reservoir near Barcelona, Spain. What commences is a web of lies, cheating, violence, and scandal—the gamut of all things that create toxic relationships.

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon: The lucrative Walking Dead universe and gets yet another notch on its belt with the Daryl Dixon chronicles.

Psychologist Suggests “Real Reason”

So Many People Love True Crime

Unlike the murder victims that the true crime genre focuses on, there seems to be no end in sight for its popularity—and the cult-like following it often inspires. What is it about this pop culture juggernaut that has folks hooked? Is it the danger and suspense? The love of mystery? Or perhaps an overriding fascination with the dark side of humanity? As Heather Wake recently wrote in Upworthy, at least one psychologist believes there’s a more insidious reason lurking in the shadows of our subconscious. While appearing on a recent episode of The Mel Robbins Podcast, Dr. Thema Bryant told viewers, “If your idea of relaxing before you go to sleep is watching three episodes of Law & Order, I would encourage you to think about, ‘Why is trauma relaxing to me?’” Driving the point home, Bryant said, “That’s what it is. It’s harm, crime violation, attacks, and that’s what’s going to soothe me into my bedtime.” In other words, some of us might be crime aficionados because of unresolved trauma.

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INDIGO ROAD

“Indigo Road is a beautifully wrought, hard-biting story with elements of classic noir presented through a prism of modern sensibilities. A fantastic read.” –S.A. Cosby, bestselling author of Razorblade Tears 

While still slinging drinks fulltime at The Sandbar in Folly Beach, Jack Connor works a side gig as a licensed bounty hunter. One afternoon, as he's transporting his latest bail skip named Willis Ronson back to jail, his SUV is ambushed by a team of gunmen, killing Ronson instantly and seriously injuring his court-appointed attorney, Alisha Dupree. Connor can’t help but poke around the edges of the deadly incident and quickly learns that Ronson was a man of many secrets, including a mysterious woman from his past who has caused him to be sucked into a domestic terrorist fringe group.