As if the ballet world hasn't been portrayed as cruel and gruesome enough lately, here comes a new "dark and gritty TV series" about a ballet dancer with a troubled past who joins a New York company. The series is being developed by Starz and will be produced by Bender-Brown Productions. The Brown in Bender-Brown is Kevin Brown, brother of Ethan, Leslie, and Gabrielle Elizabeth*, and son of Kelly and Isabel -- all of whom danced at ABT. The Bender in Bender-Brown produced Pulp Fiction, Inglourious Basterds, An Inconvenient Truth, and most of the Tarantino films.
For sure, the producers have endless ideas about plot lines, but well, if they need any help, we're always here for them.
*Thanks to FrmrDancer for the correction.
Combine "Breaking Bad" with "Black Swan" and add a pinch of "Mad Men," and you've got a crowd-pleaser for sure. Maybe it will bring in new audience members.
Posted by: Angelica Smith | January 30, 2013 at 02:06 PM
Why not save money and just film a reality show at the Bolshoi theater? It would be twice as dramatic. Have you read about this thing with Lunkina now?
Posted by: A. | January 30, 2013 at 02:40 PM
Hi "A". It's all pretty wild, isn't it? I'm looking forward to hearing something about the results of all those lie-detector tests. Probably some of this kind of stuff will turn up in the TV show. It seems the timing of the announcement about a show "in development" stages could have been made to capitalize on the news coming out of Moscow.
Posted by: Haglund | January 30, 2013 at 02:44 PM
Angelica, I think Danny DeVito should play the uber-scrupulous, uber-secretive blogger who uncovers and publishes dirt on the dance world. We only see him from behind at night as he sits at his desk lonely typing beneath a naked, flickering bulb -- yes, typing on a typewritter with Cyrillic keys. But we know his voice, and we know it's him when he arrives every night out front of the theater in his yellow taxi to pick up dancers to take them home or wherever they go after the show. "Can I give you a lift, Sweetie?" She climbs in the back of the taxi and sighs, "I need more than a lift." "Oh," says
HaglundDanny, "Snort some of this, Baby, and tell me your troubles."But I'm afraid it would all be too uncomfortably close to reality. Way too close.
Posted by: Haglund | January 31, 2013 at 12:14 AM
Gossip Girl: The Ballet
Posted by: Angelica Smith | January 31, 2013 at 03:23 PM
or -
Revenge: The Ballet
Posted by: Haglund | January 31, 2013 at 03:26 PM
Just FYI, Gabrielle is not the other sibling in that Brown family. It was Elizabeth Laing (nee Brown). Gabrielle is a different "Brown.
Posted by: FrmrDancer | January 31, 2013 at 06:54 PM
Thanks FrmrDancer. I will correct that shortly.
Posted by: Haglund | January 31, 2013 at 07:00 PM