Jonathan Demme Takes HBO Pilot Plunge

HBO continues in the Tom Hanks/Gary Goetzman biz with yet another Playtone series from them. The latest has Rachel Getting Married director Jonathan Demme teaming with Walter Mosley to co-write a pilot based on the author’s new detective novel series The Long Fall. Demme will direct the pilot episode which introduces an ex-boxer who turns P.I.. Mosley (known for his period Los Angeles-based Easy Rawlins books) will be executive producer along with Demme and Hanks and Goetzman.

So let me see… Playtone’s Big Love was renewed for a 5th season. And it launches the 10-part miniseries The Pacific on March 14th, which Hanks and Goetzman exec produced with Steven Spielberg. And now this. Demme, meanwhile, becomes the latest in a growing number of A-list directors signing on to direct HBO pilots. Martin Scorsese directed the Boardwalk Empire pilot. His experiences, and a strong David Milch script, convinced Michael Mann to direct Luck, a series pilot set in the world of horse racing. Bill Condon and David Fincher also have series business at HBO.