Late on Friday afternoon, Collider reported that Taika Waititi and Jude Law were teaming for a new Showtime series called The Auteur. The timing wasn’t ideal, not just because it was a Friday afternoon, but because it was Valentine’s Day, and the start of a long holiday weekend. Showtime wasn’t exactly happy with us, but if a story is true and newsworthy, it’s our duty to publish it. Of course, this means that, sometimes, we don’t have all the details, and with regards to The Auteur, I had a feeling it was based on the graphic novel of the same name, but I wasn’t totally sure.
Well, now that Showtime has confirmed our original story and clarified that The Auteur is, in fact, based on the graphic novel by Rick Spears, James Callahan and Luigi Anderson, we can finally delve into the juicy plot.
Per Showtime, The Auteur is a gonzo horror-comedy, a twisted romance, and a glamorous, high wire act of biting satire. Law will play a film producer who, desperate to make a great horror movie following a massive flop, accidentally traps his production on a backlot with a serial killer.
Waititi, who’s no stranger to horror-comedies thanks to What We Do in the Shadows, will direct the half-hour series as well as co-write the script with Peter Warren (Ghost Team). Showtime has ordered multiple scripts and will produce alongside Legendary, with Endeavor Content serving as the studio. Waititi, Law and Warren will executive produce with Spears and Callahan, as well as Eric Gitter and Dan Halsted.
“The Auteur unites the wildly imaginative filmmaker Taika Waititi and the barbed wit of Peter Warren with the undeniable Jude Law in a bloody love letter to the movies that will make you simultaneously die laughing and want to run for your life,” said Amy Israel, executive VP of scripted programming at Showtime.
Waititi is coming off an Oscar win for writing Jojo Rabbit, and he recently wrapped his next film Next Goal Wins, which stars Michael Fassbender. Later this year, Waititi will begin filming Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder, and after that, it’s anyone’s guess what he’ll focus on, though a new Star Wars movie is a strong possibility. As an actor, Waititi will soon be seen alongside Ryan Reynolds in the action-comedy Free Guy, and he’s also set to appear in James Gunn‘s DC movie The Suicide Squad.
Law earned Oscar nominations for his supporting turn in The Talented Mr. Ripley and his lead role in Cold Mountain, and he recently starred in Captain Marvel and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. He currently stars alongside Blake Lively in The Rhythm Section, and he’ll soon be seen opposite Carrie Coon‘s in Sean Durkin‘s marital drama The Nest. Law is also expected to return for the third installments in the Fantastic Beasts and Sherlock Holmes franchises. On the TV side, Law can currently be seen alongside John Malkovich in HBO’s The New Pope, and he’s also set to star opposite Naomie Harris in the network’s limited series The Third Day.
via Collider