Pilot fails, but pic flies
'Where's Marlowe' backed by Par TV, Alphabet
Pyne made the documentary-style detective story two years ago as a one-hour series pilot for the Alphabet web. ABC de-clined to air the show -- as did all the major broadcast and cable networks -- but the project is now finding new life as a full-length movie.
Filmed in 16mm, "Marlowe" takes the form of faux-documentary footage shot by a pair of fictional twentysomething film school grads. Their subject is a modern-day private eye who longs to be more like the heroes of 1940s noir thrillers.
The pilot concept had the blessing of ABC's then-exec VP Stu Bloomberg. But the finished piece's cutting-edge approach proved way too hip for network TV.
"Everyone liked it," recalls Pyne, "but they all had the same comment: Why did you ever think this could be on TV?"
So with the support of Paramount TV chairman Kerry McCluggage, Pyne and co-scripter John Mankiewicz are now at work extending the episode into a feature-length film.
The cast, which features Miguel Ferrer as the P.I. and John Livingston and Dante Beze as the filmmakers, returned for additional shoots, which just wrapped.
"It's like we're doing an independent film but we're doing it for the studio, so we don't have to panic," said Pyne, who puts the budget at around $4 million.
Paramount will have the option to distribute the project, possibly under its new specialized division, or to shop the film elsewhere.
Pyne, whose screenwriting credits include "Pacific Heights" and "Doc Hollywood," met Mankiewicz in the 1980s when the pair were writing episodes for "Miami Vice." They later reteamed to create the NBC series "The Marshall."
They are now part of Western Sandblast, a loose collective of writers and writer-directors ensconced in the top floors of an Art Deco building on Wilshire Boulevard.
Western Sandblast TV projects in development include a half-hour single-camera sitcom for NBC called "Ice," a mob-themed series for Showtime and the UPN sci-fi movie "Mars TV."
