Author: Lesley Goldberg

October 20, 2016 9:00am PT by Lesley Goldberg

Touchstone/Photofest

Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced the 1998 Will Smith feature, is attached to the ABC Studios reboot.

Jerry Bruckheimer is returning to Enemy of the State.

The prolific producer has set up a TV sequel to the 1998 Will Smith starrer at ABC, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

The potential series, which landed at ABC with a hefty put-pilot commitment, takes place two decades after the original film. When an elusive NSA spy is charged with leaking classified intelligence, an idealistic female attorney must partner with a hawkish FBI agent to stop a global conspiracy that threatens to expose dark secrets and personal mysteries connecting all three of their lives.

Bruckheimer — who produced the movie co-starring Gene Hackman, Jon Voight and Jack Black — will serve in the same capacity. Morgan Foehl (Blackhat, Escape From Davao, The Asset) will pen the script. Jerry Bruckheimer Television’s Jonathan Littman and KristieAnne Reed will also exec produce. The drama hails from ABC Studios, whose corporate sibling, Touchstone Pictures, produced the original movie alongside Jerry Bruckheimer Productions and Scott Free Productions.

Produced on a budget of $90 million, Enemy of the State went on to gross $250.6 million worldwide.

This marks the latest reboot that Bruckheimer is attached to. He will next exec produce CBS’ midseason Training Day sequel (Bruckheimer was not involved in the feature film). His current TV series also include Fox’s Lucifer and The Amazing Race. This marks the first sale for Bruckheimer since he left Warner Bros. Television to go the independent route following a 15-year run.

Reboots continue to remain in high demand as broadcast, cable and streaming outlets look for proven IP in a bid to cut through a cluttered scripted landscape that is quickly approaching 500 original series. Key to the remakes is having the original producers involved in some capacity — as Enemy of the State has with Bruckheimer and Disney’s TV side — as more studios look to monetize their existing film libraries.

Already in the works this season are reboots of Dynasty (The CW), War of the Worlds (MTV), Magnum P.I. (ABC), The Lost Boys (The CW), Varsity Blues (CMT), The Departed (Amazon), Let the Right One In (TNT) and L.A. Law, though the latter does not yet have a network attached.

Foehl is repped by CAA, Wirehouse Entertainment and Jackoway Tyerman; Bruckheimer TV is with CAA.

TV Development

October 19, 2016 4:06pm PT by Lesley Goldberg

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Wynn Wygal will head development for the ‘Creed’ star’s newly launched Outlier Productions.

Actor Michael B. Jordan is adding executive producer to his résumé.

The Creed and Friday Night Lights alum has launched a production company and signed a multi-year first-look film and TV production deal with Skydance Media, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Jordan has tapped Mad Chance Productions’ Wynn Wygal to serve as VP at Outlier Productions. Wygal joins the company from Mad Chance, the production arm behind American Sniper, where she served as director of development. During her time at Mad Chance, Wygal championed It’s What I Do, Queen of the Air, Wynne’s War and oversaw the English adaptation of Akira, among other projects. 

Jordan has also set his first TV project under the Skydance deal: Apollo Park. The scripted drama revolves around a young basketball player’s rapid rise to professional fame and the effects of his success on his family and community back in inner-city Detroit.

Eric Amadio, whose FX drama Snowfall was just picked up to series, co-created Apollo Park with Jordan. Amadio will pen the potential series and exec produce alongside Jordan, Evan Silverberg, Kenny Goodman as well as Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Marcy Ross.

“Michael is an incredibly gifted actor and storyteller whose proven track record on both the big and small screen together with his boundless ambitions make him an ideal partner for us at Skydance,” Skydance CEO Ellison said. “We are so excited to team up with Michael and Eric on Apollo Park, a riveting sports drama about courage, perseverance and family.”

The film and TV pact comes as Jordan, 29, has spent much of his life in Hollywood. He launched his acting career in 1999 with episodes of The Sopranos before going on to star as Wallace in HBO’s critically acclaimed drama The Wire. In 2009, he joined the cast of NBC’s cult favorite Friday Night Lights and re-teamed with showrunner Jason Katims for the network’s Parenthood. On the big screen, his credits include Creed, Fantastic Four, Fruitvale Station and Chronicle, among others. He will next be seen in Marvel’s Black Panther, due in 2018.

“I love telling true, modern stories and Apollo Park — an underdog tale about a very real and very heroic hustler who defies stereotypes and thrives against great odds — has long been a passion project of mine. Eric and I are excited to join forces with the incredible creative team at Skydance to share it with the world,” said Jordan, who grew up playing basketball for his high school team in Newark. “I’m also very eager to start this new chapter in my career by launching my production company and I am thrilled to have Wynn join my team.”

Jordan joins a roster of producers with overall deals at Skydance including Marti Noxon (who is developing Dietland for TV), among others. On the TV side, Skydance is behind Netflix’s Grace and Frankie as well as the upcoming Altered Carbon at Netflix, Spike’s Red Mars and Amazon’s Jack Ryan.

Jordan and Outlier are repped by WME, MGMT and Bloom Hergott; Amadio is with CAA, Management 360 and Bloom Hergott.

Apollo Park becomes the latest sports-themed scripted project in the works. It joins the football family comedy based on the life of Arizona Cardinals defensive end Calais Campbell and established series including Fox’s Pitch, Starz’s basketball-themed Survivor’s Remorse, HBO’s Ballers and DirecTV/The Audience Network’s Kingdom. 

October 19, 2016 2:48pm PT by Lesley Goldberg

Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

He’ll guest star in two episodes of the Showtime dramedy’s seventh season.

Showtime’s Shameless is adding a new face to the mix for season seven.

Revenge grad Barry Sloane has booked a guest gig on the Emmy Rossum-William H. Macy starrer, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Sloane is currently slated to appear in two episodes. He will play Ryan, a good looking entrepreneur who meets Fiona (Rossum) at a Southside Young Professionals networking event.

His casting comes as Fiona has recently been inspired by Marto (NYPD Blue alum Sharon Lawrence), who owns the diner where the eldest Gallagher works as the manager.  

“Fiona is ready for a change, and no one is going to get in her way of seeing it through. She’s trying to apply the loyalty that she showed to her family to herself,” Rossum told The Hollywood Reporter at the start of season seven. “She decides the family should pick up the slack and share responsibility equally within the house, because it’s been pretty one-sided for a long time. She helped all these other people be a success — now it’s her turn.”

Sloane’s recent credits include The Whispers, Longmire and History’s upcoming Six, due in 2017. He’s repped by WME and Silver Lining Entertainment.  

Shameless airs Sundays on Showtime. 

Shameless