While I'm bummed that it's a TV movie (only TV movie I wanna see him in is a Spike movie...or maybe something from HBO or TNT), the plot does sound cute.

Hell, if JM's in it, I'll watch. :)

Joss' bitch | November 17, 02:50 CET

Steve Himber gave the title away when he replied an email. The person who got the email is one of my fellow posters on another board. I think it's pretty reliable.

The pilot sounds interesting and apparently Robert Comfort - the lead character - is a real person.

pelinxf | November 17, 03:00 CET

Yes, and with research, other people had been interesting in playing COmfort's role in the past, Robert Downey, and Woody Allen were both interested.

twiggy | November 17, 03:23 CET

Hmm, well, if it's good, maybe James will finally get that Emmy he's deserved for many years!

Rogue Slayer | November 17, 03:31 CET

Prompted by both a strong desire to procrastinate and the power of Google, I did some research into the movie and the story since it is a true life incident. The John Cusack/Woody Allen project was still actually being actively talked about in January of this year, and seems to be a separate project from this one.

It's not a pilot, though, it's a USA Original Movie, one of four that's been touted in their press releases for the 2004 season, though at the time of the press releases it had not yet been cast.

Oh btw, if the plot description on futoncritic is a spoiler, my link is probably even more of one b/c I dug up as much of the Bobby Comfort/Pierre Hotel Heist story as I could. Which isn't that much, but will probably still tell you more about the presumed plot of the movie than you might want to know if you want to stay unspoiled.

[ edited by teenes on 2004-11-17 02:12 ]

teenes | November 17, 04:11 CET

Wow, that site is poorly designed.

David Nabbit | November 17, 05:13 CET

I was just wondering - since it's been greenlighted quite early on from the link, how come it had to be kept secret before? Anyone has an idea as to why?

StarFaith | November 17, 05:19 CET

I think that the information on the Futon Critic is very outdated and an entirely new production compnay has taken over the film.

More uptodate info is on the city of Toronto Film and Television Office webpage

http://www.toronto.ca/tfto/currentlist.htm

Ruadh | November 17, 05:31 CET

anyone else notices that one of the makers is The maker of "darkness Falls" isn't that the one that starred Emma Caufield?

Gunn 2 N's | November 17, 07:30 CET

anyone else notices that one of the makers is The maker of "darkness Falls" isn't that the one that starred Emma Caufield?

Yes it is, and I noticed that too. I didn't see that movie, although I heard it was really bad. I don't know what that means for this TV movie though. That was horror, and this isn't. I'll probably watch it if James is in it.

electricspacegirl | November 17, 08:23 CET

I honestly don't expect anything better than say, Winding Roads, but it'll still be worth a watch for James.

Rogue Slayer | November 17, 09:55 CET

James is a remarkably talented actor. I realize that on Buffy and Angel he had the advantage of outstanding writers, not to mention the insanely brilliant Joss Whedon, but his performance never disappointed. I’ll watch the man in anything and count my lucky for the experience.

showgirl | November 17, 10:28 CET

Darius Films seems to be the production company shooting it and I think it'll be a bit above Winding Roads. The site as a more extensive description and looks quite interesting, but then I enjoy "true crime" drama - even when liberties have been taken with the "truth."

[ edited by Gracie on 2004-11-17 15:43 ]

Grace | November 17, 17:39 CET

Great research work Teenes. I'm not bothered that it'll be a TV movie. This can be wonderful exposure for James; a way for many others to see this talented actor. How wonderful James has the lead role. I fear we won't see the movie for a while, possibly during one of the sweeps months.

aresnz | November 17, 17:44 CET

Out of interest, is the USA channel part of the basic cable package in the States or do people have to pay extra for it? And what are the viewing figures like for it?

Simon | November 17, 17:49 CET

Not sure on cable but on my satellite I'm pretty sure it's part of our "basic" package. They've been putting on some pretty good shows, Monk, Touching Evil, Dead Zone...I think it was ABC that was REshowing Monk a few days later because it did so well on USA (which is still a drop in the bucket compared to the Major networks). However, that showed me the regular networks are paying attention to the cable networks.

Not sure how reliable the Futon Critic is but in their articles that mention USA I keep seeing this paragraph:

"USA Network is cable television's leading provider of original series and feature movies, sports events, off-net television shows, and blockbuster theatrical films. USA Network is available in 82% of all U.S. homes and is seen in over 88 million U.S. homes. The USA Network Web site is located at www.usanetwork.com"

Hope that helps!

[ edited by Gracie on 2004-11-17 16:33 ]

Grace | November 17, 18:28 CET

USA is a basic cable network, not one of the premium channels like HBO or Showtime. In my brain, I group tv networks thusly:
CBS-NBC-ABC - the big 3 original networks
FOX-WB-UPN - the netlets
TNT-USA-Spike TV - the wanna be networks
HBO-Showtime-Cinemax - the premium channels

TNT, USA and Spike TV mostly run syndicated episodes of old tv shows and only offer a few original programs of their own. I'm not sure what viewing figures are like for their tv movies; probably dramatically less than viewership of CBS-NBC-ABC, but maybe on par with the WB or UPN.

on preview: Gracie's quote cracks me up. Soooooo much hype!

wren | November 17, 18:30 CET

Numfar and I are doing the dance of joy.

killinj | November 17, 18:38 CET

Word is that he's playing the lead character, Bobby Comfort. Sounds like an interesting role.

twiggy | November 17, 20:21 CET