It’s always a tough job trying to find a safe pair of hands to adapt a beloved TV franchise into what the producers hope will be a successful film series. Which does make you wonder why more studio types don’t try people who have a little experience with the same genre.
Take Harvey Weinstein and The Equalizer. He’s made the smart move – well, we hope it’s smart (it all depends on the final script) - in getting respected crime novelist Michael Connelly to co-write the Equalizer film with regular collaborator Terrill Lee Lankford. Connelly is best known for his ‘tec character Harry Bosch and has already seen his work adapted for the screen as Clint Eastwood’s film Blood Work. You might have some concerns as to Connelly’s seeming lack of script experience, but Lankford has some indie film credits to his name.
Wicker Park’s Paul McGuigan is the man in charge of bringing the dark, dangerous Robert McCall to the screen, though it’s not yet known who the director has chosen to step into Edward Woodward’s shoes.
For his sins, Connelly has confessed to Variety that "times have certainly changed since the days of the television show, and we plan to build a character that is of these times but to also keep the heart and soul of the show intact."
