Neil Cross's Blog, page 2

BBC One announces new show, Hard Sun

A pre-apocalyptic crime drama set in contemporary London for BBC One

3 December 2015: The 6 x 60-minute episode series, written by Neil and produced by Euston Films, was commissioned by Charlotte Moore, Controller of BBC One, and Polly Hill, Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning.

From the BBC press centre:

Detectives Elaine Renko and Robert Hicks, partners and enemies, seek to enforce the law and protect their loved ones in a world that every day slips closer to certain destruction.

Writer Neil Cross says:

“Imagine the world you see when you look out your window… except it’s been given a death sentence.

This isn’t science fiction. This is the real world. There’s no hero to come save us; no contingency plan.

We’ve got five years.

This is the world of Hard Sun… and the world of Elaine Renko and Robert Hicks.

What’s it like, trying to keep order, trying to enforce the law in a city that, day by day, slips closer to certain destruction?

How do you get up in the morning? How do you get out of bed and leave your family and go out there, putting your own life at risk?

And what about the predators? What about the murderers, the rapists, the thieves? What about the psychopaths, the religious nuts, the cult leaders, the serial killers?

Who among them would fear a prison sentence, in a world like this? Who among them would fear legal consequences? What does a life sentence even mean, any more?

What’s the point of justice in the face of Armageddon?

I’ve had Renko and Hicks and their world rattling round my head for a while now. I’m incredibly happy that, like me, they’ve found their home at the BBC. I can’t wait for you to meet them.”

Polly Hill, Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning, says: “I am thrilled that BBC One is the home for Neil Cross’s new original drama, Hard Sun. Neil has written a crime series that is bold, ambitious, relevant and dark but it’s also very moving and told through complex extraordinary characters. It’s brilliantly written and very exciting. I am also pleased that this is Euston Film’s first commission and this really does promise to be an original and compelling drama for 2017.”

Kate Harwood, Managing Director of Euston Films, adds: “We are delighted and proud that the first commission for a rebooted Euston Films is a Neil Cross project of such scale and nerve. The concept of Hard Sun is characteristically bold, richly peopled and of course deliciously scary. We can’t wait to get started.”

Hard Sun is produced by Euston Films for BBC One. The executive producers are Kate Harwood for Euston Films and Elizabeth Kilgarriff for BBC One.

It will film in and around London, and casting will be announced in due course.

Trailer launched for Luther 2015 special; broadcast in December

The broadcast dates for the new Luther special have been confirmed for both the UK and US in December.

The first hour of the two-part special will air in the UK on BBC One on December 15, and on BBC America on December 17 in the States.

Watch the BBC One trailer here:

Visit the BBC Luther web page for more details.

Six more of Neil’s books are now available in the US

Open Road Media has just published six of Neil’s books in the United States for the first time. Heartland, Captured, Natural History, Always the Sun, Holloway Falls, and his first novel, Mr. In-Between, are now available in print and ebook editions.

Luther: The Calling and Burial are already published in America.

From Open Road Media:

Six titles from the award-winning creator of hit TV show Luther will be released as ebooks on January 27, 2015, including the highly acclaimed memoir Heartland. Print editions will also be available.

Known for his psychological thrillers and crime novels, Neil Cross has been called “Britain’s own Stephen King” by The Guardian and “fierce and poignant” by The Sunday Times. He is equally praised for his literary storytelling as for his modern gothic portrayal of individuals forced into extraordinary circumstances.

In addition to Heartland, Open Road Media will release Captured, Natural History, Always the Sun, Holloway Falls, and his first novel, Mr. In-Between, in print and ebook editions.

“We are so happy to bring Neil Cross’s work to an American audience who has so embraced the television series Luther,” says Charlotte Greig, Open Road’s Strategic Advisor in the UK.

In addition to his nomination for the PEN/Ackerley Prize for Literary Autobiography, Neil Cross was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. The author has penned episodes of Dr. Who and Spooks, and is the creator of the hit BBC series Luther. A US version of Luther is scheduled to pilot on Fox in 2015.

About Open Road Media:

Open Road Integrated Media is a global digital publishing company that creates connections between authors and their audiences by marketing ebooks through a proprietary online platform. Open Road has published ebooks from legendary authors, including William Styron, Pat Conroy, Alice Walker, Bette Greene, Jack Higgins, and Dorothy L. Sayers.

For more information, including retailers, visit www.openroadmedia.com/neil-cross

‘We’re putting the band back together': Luther returns

The BBC today announced the return of Luther with a 2 x 60’ special for BBC One:

Award winning and Emmy-nominated Idris Elba makes a welcome return to BBC One to reprise his role of DCI John Luther, the murder detective whose brilliant mind can’t always save him from the dangerous violence of his passions.

The highly acclaimed London set crime series is written and created by award winning and Emmy-nominated writer Neil Cross. When asked about the much anticipated return of the hugely popular show, Cross says: “Ever since we said goodbye to John Luther on Southwark Bridge, there’s hardly been a minute when I didn’t wonder what happened next. So I decided to find out. We’re putting the band back together; Luther is coming back where he belongs. Back to the BBC. Back to London. And back to work.”

Luther will return as a 2 x 60 event special and will film in and around London in March for transmission later next year on BBC One.

Executive Producer is Elizabeth Kilgarriff for BBC Drama Production, England.

BBC, 20 November 2014

‘We’re putting the band back together’: Luther returns

The BBC today announced the return of Luther with a 2 x 60’ special for BBC One:

Award winning and Emmy-nominated Idris Elba makes a welcome return to BBC One to reprise his role of DCI John Luther, the murder detective whose brilliant mind can’t always save him from the dangerous violence of his passions.

The highly acclaimed London set crime series is written and created by award winning and Emmy-nominated writer Neil Cross. When asked about the much anticipated return of the hugely popular show, Cross says: “Ever since we said goodbye to John Luther on Southwark Bridge, there’s hardly been a minute when I didn’t wonder what happened next. So I decided to find out. We’re putting the band back together; Luther is coming back where he belongs. Back to the BBC. Back to London. And back to work.”

Luther will return as a 2 x 60 event special and will film in and around London in March for transmission later next year on BBC One.

Executive Producer is Elizabeth Kilgarriff for BBC Drama Production, England.

BBC, 20 November 2014

Luther to be remade for Fox TV in the US

From Deadline Hollywood:

‘Luther’ Gets Fox Remake With Neil Cross Writing & Idris Elba Producing

One of the most acclaimed British series of the last decade, BBC crime drama Luther, is getting a U.S. remake. Fox has given a rich put pilot commitment with a seven-figure penalty to the adaptation, which will be written/executive produced by the original series’ creator Neil Cross. The British series’ star, Idris Elba, is on board as executive producer.

Read the full story online at Deadline.com.

Neil teams with Downton producers for NZ crime drama

Neil and New Zealand company Libertine Pictures have teamed up with Downton Abbey producers for a major crime series for the BBC

From Libertine Pictures:

Libertine Pictures and writer Neil Cross have teamed up with leading international TV producer Carnival Films to develop a major new crime series set in Rotorua.

Libertine will develop the contemporary drama series with Carnival, producer of internationally-acclaimed British period drama Downton Abbey, for the BBC.

Provisionally titled Bay of Plenty, the series is a darkly eccentric crime drama set in Rotorua, created by Libertine’s Creative Director and multi-award winning film and TV writer Neil Cross.

Richard Fletcher, Joint Managing Director of Libertine, said the series would be shot primarily in Rotorua and the Bay of Plenty with a New Zealand crew and a New Zealand and international cast.

“Neil is British but has lived here for a number of years and is passionate about doing a New Zealand project,” said Fletcher.

“A London police detective relocates to Rotorua with her husband and children with the notion she is moving to paradise. In the tradition of shows like Twin Peaks and Fargo the series explores the beauty, eeriness and dark underbelly of this small city at the end of the earth.

“Viewers can expect the kind of darkness that characterises Neil’s work but with a quirky humour too.”

Gareth Neame, Executive Producer, Carnival Films, said: “We love Neil’s take on this story and believe that audiences will be intrigued by the environment and the atmosphere he will create. We’re excited to be partnering with the BBC which has had such a successful relationship with Neil and we’re also looking forward to embarking on our first project in New Zealand.”

Filming is expected to get underway during the second half of 2015.  The project will be financed by international licence fees and the Government’s New Zealand Screen Production Grant (NZSPG). It is the first major New Zealand-originated TV production to be announced since the launch of the incentive scheme in April.

Fletcher said: “The NZSPG aims to move production companies away from the service model to an intellectual property creation model with long-term benefits realised from a production. This project is a direct example of how that is working in practice.

“It will bring significant investment to the local and national economy. The vast majority of the cast will be New Zealanders and it will employ many people from the New Zealand television and film industry and from the Bay of Plenty region. The initial production is being developed as eight one-hour episodes but our vision is for it to become a long-running series.”

The project offers opportunities for creatives in the New Zealand television industry to work on a world-class project destined for international audiences.

“Libertine was set up with the aim of actively working in the international market. The NZSPG and this series provided us with that opportunity,” said Fletcher.

“We are very pleased to be working with producers of the calibre of Carnival and to have the support of the BBC and NBCUniversal. We could not wish for better partners. Their expertise and market strength are a huge asset to the series.

“This will give a team of New Zealand writers the chance to work with some of the world’s best in television development and will provide exciting opportunities for New Zealand behind the camera talent.”

Cross, who will also be showrunner for the project, is creator and sole writer of the multi-award winning BBC crime thriller Luther, for which he has been twice nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing and which screens in more than 160 countries. His many film and TV projects also include writing the 2013 international hit film Mama, he was lead scriptwriter for the acclaimed Series 6 and Series 7 of BBC spy drama Spooks and recently scripted two episodes of Dr Who.

The series will be executive produced by Richard Fletcher, Paul Davis and Neil Cross for Libertine and Gareth Neame and Nigel Marchant for Carnival. NBCUniversal will handle international sales and will launch the series at MIPCOM, the upcoming television market in Cannes from 13-16 October 2014. The deal was brokered by Carnival Films’ Chief Operating Officer David O’Donoghue and Libertine Pictures’ Richard Fletcher. Phil Temple is the Development Producer for Carnival Films. Neil Cross is represented by Michael McCoy of Independent Talent.

ENDS

About Libertine Pictures

Libertine Pictures, the inaugural recipient of the NZ Film Commission’s Business Development Scheme, was formed in 2013 to bring together exceptional creative talent to make film and television aimed at audiences around the world. Along with the experience of its founders, producers Richard Fletcher and Paul Davis and writer Neil Cross, the company is distinguished by its partnerships with practitioners across the industry. This brings their expertise together with the talents of leading filmmakers and distribution and sales professionals here and overseas.

For more information visit: www.libertinepictures.com

About Carnival Films

Carnival Films is a division of NBCUniversal International Television Production and the UK’s largest drama specialist, responsible for global TV sensation Downton Abbey, winner of two Golden Globes and ten Primetime Emmy Awards, and the most nominated non-US show in the history of the Emmys with a total of 51 nominations.

Founded in 1978, Carnival has produced many hundreds of hours of popular drama including acclaimed mini-series Traffik, Rosemary and Thyme and Poirot. The company has also co-produced The Hollow Crown and produced David Nicholls’ The 7.39, David Hare’s political thrillers Page Eight, Turks & Caicos and Salting The Battlefield, the Bafta award-winning William Boyd drama Any Human Heart, The Last Weekend, Dracula, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers for NBC and Sky Living, and popular drama series Whitechapel and Hotel Babylon. The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies by Golden Globe and Bafta winner Peter Morgan will transmit in 2014 on ITV.

In 2011, Carnival was recognized as Best UK Production Company at the Bulldog Awards and named Best Production Company at the 2012 Broadcast Awards. Carnival is currently co-producing the second installment of The Hollow Crown: The Wars Of The Roses and production will begin in November 2014 on The Last Kingdom for BBC and BBCAmerica.

For more information visit: www.carnivalfilms.co.uk

Photos

 

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With Idris Elba. Download high-res photo here

 

 

Three Emmy nominations for Luther in 2014

Luther has been nominated for three awards in this year’s Primetime Emmys:

Outstanding miniseries, for Luther

Outstanding writing for a miniseries, for Neil

Lead actor in a miniseries, for Idris Elba

The awards will be announced on August 25. For a full list of nominees, visit Variety online.

Luther nominated for Critics’ Choice Awards

Luther Season 3 has been nominated for two Critics’ Choice Awards in the United States.

The show has been nominated in the Best Miniseries category in the 2014 awards, which are run by the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA). Warren Brown has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries for his role as Detective Segeant Justin Ripley in Luther.

Season 2 of Luther and Idris Elba were also nominated in the Critics’ Choice Awards in 2012.

The Awards will be announced on June 19. A full list of 2014 nominees can be found on the Critics’ Choice Awards website.

Earlier this year, Idris Elba won the Male Actor award at Britain’s Royal Television Society Awards in London.