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“The Cry” producer Synchronicity Films has optioned Craig Russell’s “Lennox” book series and will adapt the period Scotland-set thrillers for TV. Robert Murphy – whose extensive series credits include “Dci Banks,” “Inspector George Gently,” and “Vera” – is attached to handle the adaptation.

The “Lennox” series is set in tough inner-city Glasgow in the 1950s. The titular Lennox is a private eye, born in Scotland but raised in America after the Depression. He is billed as “a damaged man in a hard city at a hard time” and finds himself caught between three Glasgow crime bosses – The Three Kings.

“Craig Russell’s Lennox is a fascinating character, taking inspiration from the classic noir detective and infusing him with freshness and bite through intricately researched setting, authenticity of the period and compelling plot,” said Claire Mundell, managing director and creative director of Synchronicity. “We know that Robert will bring his wit and...

Exclusive: ITV is hunting down a new detective franchise in Invisible starring The Crown’s Jason Watkins and Cold Feet’s Tala Gouveia.

The British commercial broadcaster has ordered two feature-length films from Victoria and Poldark producer Mammoth Screen. Invisible is written by Robert Murphy, the lead writer on Left Bank’s long-running detective series Dci Banks.

Set in Bath, Watkins, who is playing former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson in season three of The Crown, plays the shy, modest DS Dodds, who is paired with the wildly ambitious Dci McDonald, played by Gouveia.

While McDonald has transferred from the mean streets of South London to leap up the career ladder, Dodds has happily languished on the shelf for most of his working life. McDonald is a tough, driven, battering ram of a cop who cracks cases through sheer force of will and Dodds is quiet, unassuming and enigmatic. But...

Joseph Fiennes was in Cannes, Sunday, to talk to potential partners about “Cyrano,” his “Cyrano de Bergerac” series project for Atrium TV.

Atrium TV is a drama commissioning club that has telcos and pay-tv platforms as members. They were in Cannes to run the rule over new projects and others already in development. Members include BT from the U.K., Televisa from Mexico, Orange from France, and Movistar+ from Spain. They co-fund scripted series and launch them domestically as original productions. Atrium is backed by distributor Drg, which then sells the shows outside of the territories in which they were commissioned.

Atrium TV CEO, Richard Halliwell, said Sunday that Michael Douglas-produced “Silo,” which was first shown to members in May, is moving forward with new scripts being written. The futuristic drama is set in San Francisco. Douglas will produce with Peter Horton (“Grey’s Anatomy”), who writes alongside Raelle Tucker (“Jessica Jones”).

“Cyrano,...

The timing might be just right for John Cassavetes Award for The Best Independent Film of 2009 winner Alex Holdridge to break into Sundance. I imagine he tried with his previous three features, Wrong Numbers (2001), Sexless (2003), and the SXSW selected In Search of a Midnight Kiss (2008), but his latest, Meet Me In Montenegro appears to be a better fit. Teamed with his dp Robert Murphy, this was filmed in Berlin, Los Angeles and the titular Montenegro and stars Rupert Friend and Deborah Ann Woll (pictured above on set).

Gist: Linnea Saasen’s screenplay sees a failed European dancer who has a chance meeting in Berlin and starts an affair despite the fact that they are moving to opposite ends of the earth. Rupert Friend plays the writer’s best friend who is in a fading relationship and toys with the idea of taking his girlfriend – played by Jennifer Ulrich (The Wave) – to a sex club.

By Stephen Saito

It wasn't the most romantic situation when Alex Holdridge found himself standing by the side of the road, en route to a city he hated. At a time when Holdridge recalls having "no margin for error," there he was with his car flipped upside down and little recourse, except for a primal instinct. "As soon as I crashed the car, I found a camera and I knelt down and took that photo. I always knew that so long as that photo comes out, I could use it somewhere."

When a character in Holdridge's third film, "In Search of a Midnight Kiss," describes being involved in a car accident, there's something poetic about the small poof of smoke and the clutter of the car's undercarriage set against the open road, particularly illuminated by the film's monochromatic palette. Most of the amusing and poignant moments in "Midnight Kiss" came...

'So what are you looking for?"

"The love of my life."

"On Craigslist?"

The tactics are new, but the goal is the same as ever in the indie romantic com edy "In Search of a Midnight Kiss," which takes a bit of "Swingers" and a bit of "Manhattan" to create a slacktacular vision of uncertain youth in today's L.A.

Wilson (Scoot McNairy) is troubled, lonely and confused - in other words, a comedy writer. He has $108 in the bank and no job, unless you count working the bong. As the movie opens, he is caught doing unspeakable, pantsless...