Ben Stiller, the director, is back with an adaptation of a true-life prison break for the upcoming series “Escape at Dannemora.” The limited event series stars Patricia Arquette as Mitchell, Benicio del Toro and Paul Dano as the prisoners Richard Matt and David Sweat.
Stiller as director and executive producer is an exciting prospect for the potential this mini-series has. The 52 year-old actor-director has never really made a dull movie as a director, even if he's swung and miss a few times. There's a lot of interesting filmmaking going on in “Zoolander” “Reality Bites” “Tropic Thunder,” and "The Cable Guy." Using Andrew Sarris' famous ranking of directors, thanks to Tony Joe Stemme, I'd put Redford in the 'Lightly Likeable' category.
However, the jump from silver screen to television could be quite fruitful for Stiller, there isn't much opportunity for mid-budget studio films these days. That problem is what's gotten a lot of American filmmakers to go for the creative freedoms bestowed upon them by TV execs.
Charles Barfield over at The Playlist has the synopsis for the series:
"The true story of the 2015 Dannemora prison breakout is almost too ridiculous to believe. The drama surrounds a female prison worker, named Tilly Mitchell, who involves herself in a sexual relationship with two separate inmates and uses her access to give them the supplies they need to escape. Of course, if you followed the news, you know that the escape was just part of the story, as the two men and Tilly found themselves at the center of a manhunt."
I wrote earlier last month:
"It is quite thrilling to see all these great directors make the switch to TV. The last few years, legendary directors such as Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, David Fincher, Woody Allen, Steven Soderbergh, Spike Lee, Todd Haynes, Joel Coen and Ridley Scott have made the switch to television."
Of course, filmmakers making the jump to television isn't a new phenomenon, at least as far as European filmmakers are concerned. In the '60s, '70's and '80s the likes of Bergman, Tarkovsky, Bunuel and Godard made films for television, due to lack of funding or studio restraints. The fact that this is now to an American thing is very exciting.
Of course, filmmakers making the jump to television isn't a new phenomenon, at least as far as European filmmakers are concerned. In the '60s, '70's and '80s the likes of Bergman, Tarkovsky, Bunuel and Godard made films for television, due to lack of funding or studio restraints. The fact that this is now to an American thing is very exciting.
“Escape at Dannemora” will debut on Showtime on November 18.