USA CABLE NETWORK Heavy hitters to resurrect 'Frankenstein'

ZAP2IT.COM
USA is teaming up with some big names to bring the "Frankenstein" legend to the small screen.
The cable network has ordered a two-hour pilot for a contemporary re-telling of the classic Mary Shelley tale, with best-selling suspense novelist Dean Koontz and six-time Oscar nominee Martin Scorsese among its executive producers.
Koontz, who's had a number of novels adapted for the screen, will write the pilot; it's his first shot at a screenplay since he adapted his novel "Phantoms" in 1998. Marcus Nispel, who helmed the remake of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," will direct.
"It's amazing to have this creative team in the same room, let alone working for us on a project of this scope," Jeff Wachtel, USA's head of series and long-form programming, says in a statement. "I have always loved the idea of re-thinking classic stories as contemporary urban myths -- and we are thrilled that 'Frankenstein' will come to life in the hands of these gifted artists."
Production on the pilot is scheduled to begin in April. USA is calling "Frankenstein" an "event series," which means it will probably have a limited run. The network isn't saying much about the series' plot other than its setting in the present day.
Tony Krantz, an executive producer of "24" and "Sports Night," will serve that same role on "Frankenstein" with Koontz and Scorsese.