GC fund nabs Israel's 'Danny Hollywood'

New York-based venture capital fund GC Corp. has inked a deal with Israel-based TV provider Yes and Israeli production company Teddy Production to acquire format rights to the series "Danny Hollywood," about investigative journalists who travel back in time. "Danny," which recently had its second-season premiere in Israel, centers on three reporters who wind up in the 1960s, where they try to uncover the mysterious death of pop star Danny Hollywood the day before he is to be married. Full story

'Detective' to credit Minghella, Pollack

Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack will receive posthumous executive producer credits as the BBC moves forward with its six-part TV series based on Alexander McCall-Smith's "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency." The series, officially announced Monday, continues the vision of Minghella, whose feature-length adaptation of the first book premiered to huge success in the U.K. shortly after his death in March. Pollack, whose Mirage Enterprises -- a co-venture with Minghella -- co-produced the telefilm, died two months later. Full story

Pilot-free series doing poorly

Partly by choice and partly by necessity because the WGA strike cut short the pilot season, this year was supposed to be the dawn of a new era for series development. NBC skipped pilots, going straight to series, while CBS opted for shorter, less expensive drama presentations. "Pilots are vastly overrated," CBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves declared last spring. Said NBC Universal president and CEO Jeff Zucker in January, "The odds of success are just as great going straight to series as they are in making all of those pilots." Full story

Two pilots add cast

Jason Butler Harner has joined the cast of Showtime's drama pilot "Possible Side Effects." Meanwhile, two recurring players on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," David Hornsby and Artemis Pebdani, have been added to Fox's single-camera comedy pilot "Boldly Going Nowhere," from the "It's Always Sunny" trio of Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton. Full story

R. Greg Johnston inks Endemol deal

Reality producer R. Greg Johnston has inked a two-year overall deal with Endemol USA to create and executive produce unscripted series. Johnston is a 16-year MTV veteran who joined the cable network as an intern in its early days and worked his way up to vp in the music development department and then an MTV-based producer. He played a key role in the development of such signature MTV reality series as "The Osbournes" and "Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica," which he executive produced. For his work on "Osbournes," he shared a best nonfiction program Emmy in 2002. Full story

Discovery series set to explode

Discovery Channel has greenlighted a 13-episode series that will spotlight demolition blasts around the world and explain the science behind them. "The Detonators," a co-production of RDF USA and IWC, an RDF-owned company in Scotland, will follow two explosives experts, Braden Lusk and Paul Worsey as they meet the blasters behind such structures as urban skyscrapers, massive steel bridges and giant stadiums and give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the demolitions. Full story

Four more join O'Keeffe story

Ed Begley Jr., Tyne Daly, Linda Emond and Henry Simmons have been cast opposite Joan Allen and Jeremy Irons in the Lifetime original biopic "Georgia O'Keeffe." "O'Keeffe," from Sony Pictures TV, will follow the 20-year love affair between the American artist (Allen) and photographer Alfred Stieglitz (Irons). Begley plays Alfred's brother, Lee, a doctor who examines Georgia after she faints and years later when she suffers a breakdown. Full story

Fremantle eyes Original Prods.

FremantleMedia North America is in talks to acquire Thom Beers' Original Prods. Beers, who founded Original in 1999, has created a distinct "blue collar hero" unscripted programming brand with such shows as "Deadliest Catch," "Ice Road Truckers" and "Axeman." With a dozen series on television, mostly on cable, he's one of the most prolific reality producers. A deal would expand Beers' existing business relationship with Fremantle. In August, Fremantle picked up international distribution rights to several Original series: "Verminators," "America's Port, L.A.," "Hard Hats," "1,000 Ways to Die" and "Black Gold." Full story

Marvel preps Thor animated series

Marvel's Thor is the latest hero from the comics and entertainment company to get the cartoon treatment.
Marvel Animation is developing and self-producing a 26 half-hour episode series based on its long-running comic book, with the series targeted to launch in fall 2010, following Marvel's live-action feature "Thor," which bows in 2010. Full story

'Hero by Night' live-action series in works

NEW YORK -- IM Global is harnessing the comic book power of Platinum Studios to develop D.J. Coffman's "Hero by Night" into a live-action TV series. "Hero," which won Platinum's 2006 Comic Book Challenge competition, tells the story of young landlord Jack King, who uncovers the lair of the title character. Determined to make some extra cash, Jack auctions the Hero's journal on eBay, raising the ire of a dormant madman. Full story