The Weinstein Company announced today that they have optioned television rights to Truman Capote’s 1966 bestselling non-fiction book “In Cold Blood” with plans to adapt the tome as a television event series. Gary Oldman and Douglas Urbanski’s Flying Studios (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Contender) will produce the project, with screenwriter Kevin Hood (Become Jane, “Grange Hill”) attached to script the program.
Having originally debuted as a four-part serial in The New Yorker, “In Cold Blood” was published by Random House and went on to become the second-biggest selling true crime book of all time, paving the way for narrative non-fiction as a celebrated genre. It follows the brutal 1959 murders of the Clutters, a Kansas farming family, and the effect of the killings on both the surrounding community and the men who were eventually convicted. Capote and his friend and fellow author Harper Lee infamously traveled to Kansas to interview locals and investigators about the event, gathering thousands of pages of notes and taking six years to complete the book.
“Truman Capote’s ‘In Cold Blood’ has been riveting audiences since it first hit the literary scene almost fifty years ago, and it continues to have that same thrilling, timeless appeal today,” says David Glasser, president/COO. “We are extremely excited to be partnering with Gary, Doug and the whole Flying Studios team to bring what’s sure to be an unbelievable series to TV viewers.”
SVP of Scripted TV Marc Velez, VP of Scripted TV Megan Spanjian and Creative Executive Lauren O’Connor will oversee the project for TWC. The deal for “In Cold Blood” was brokered by Sarah Sobel, EVP of Business & Legal Affairs for TWC with APA.
