Sci Fi Channel has partnered with Ridley Scott (GLADIATOR) and Tony Scott (MAN ON FIRE) to revisit the Michael Crichton bestseller, THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, while Frank Darabont (THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION) joins Sci Fi for a re-invention of the sci-fi thriller, THE THING.
In Crichtons chilling debut novel, an extraterrestrial virus infects an entire town, killing its inhabitants within seconds. Sci Fis four-hour reimagining will be written by Pulitzer Prize-winner Robert Schenkkan (THE QUIET AMERICAN). Joining the Scott brothers as exec producers are David W. Zucker and Tom Thayer. The miniseries will be produced by Scott Free Prods. and Thayers Travelers Rest Films, in association with NBC Universal Television Studio. THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN was first filmed in 71 by Robert Wise.
Meanwhile, David Leslie Johnson will write the new screenplay for THE THING, which has been remade several times after the 51 original, about a parasitic entity of unknown origin that threatens the very survival of humanity. David Foster (producer of the original JOHN CARPENTERS THE THING, RIVER WILD, MASK OF ZORRO) and Darabont serve as exec producers. The four-hour miniseries will be produced by NBC Universal Television Studio.
Scott and Darabont are the latest additions to a growing list of Hollywood elite who have partnered with Sci Fi for epic television events. The channel also has projects in the works with Steven Spielberg (NINE LIVES), Martin Scorsese (THE TWELVE), Bryan Singer (THE TRIANGLE), Dean Devlin (THE TRIANGLE), Gale Anne Hurd (RED MARS) and Nicolas Cage (DRESDEN FILES). Sci Fi Channel (www.scifi.com) was launched in 92 and is currently in 83 million homes as a network of NBC Universal, one of the leading media and entertainment companies.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
