Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher in ‘Murder, She Wrote.’ Photo courtesy of Universal Television.
For those who didn’t grow up in the 1980s or have somehow gotten this far in life not knowing the name Jessica Fletcher, ‘Murder She Wrote’ was a crime procedural drama series that kicked off on CBS in 1984.
It stars Lansbury as Fletcher, a seemingly mild-mannered crime writer who has a penchant for digging into mysteries of all kinds. Working and living primarily in the fictional town of Cabot Cove, Maine, she’s consistently underestimated by police and criminals and ends up solving many murders.
For the new movie, ‘Dumb Money’ duo Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo wrote the screenplay based on the series. Curtis will take on the role as Fletcher, and the tone may tend towards warmly comedic.
What else has Jason Moore directed?
In addition to helping launch the ‘Pitch Perfect’ franchise, Moore has also been behind the camera for movies including ‘Sisters’ and ‘Shotgun Wedding.’
He’s also directed the pilot and served as an executive producer on ‘Elle,’ the upcoming ‘Legally Blonde’ prequel TV series at Prime Video.
(L to R) Jennifer Lopez, Josh Duhamel, and director Jason Moore on the set of ‘Shotgun Wedding’. Photo Credit: Ana Carballosa.
(Left) Jamie Lee Curtis poses backstage with the Oscar® for Actress in a Supporting Role during the live ABC telecast of the 95th Oscars® at Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023. (Right) Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher in ‘Murder, She Wrote.’ Photo courtesy of Universal Television.
Preview:
Jamie Lee Curtis is circling the lead in the ‘Murder, She Wrote’ movie.
Universal is driving the new development.
If she signs, she’d take over the role made famous by Angela Lansbury on TV.
And bestriding the genre like a colossus spanning both sides is Rian Johnson, who continues to see success with his ‘Knives Out’ franchise, which stars Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc and TV’s ‘Poker Face,’ in which Natasha Lyonne plays Charlie Cole, who has the ability to know when people are lying and keeps stumbling into murder mystery situations.
Yet back in the day (by which we mean the 1980s), the 800lb gorilla of mystery on TV was ‘Murder, She Wrote,’ with Angela Lansbury starring.
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It’s a little surprising given the enduring popularity of the show (and the love for existing intellectual popularity to exploit), why it has taken this long for a movie to enter development. Yet the wheels got turning last year, when Universal began work on one, with Amy Pascal producing.
Now, according to Deadline, Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis is close to a deal to take the lead, though the site cautions that it’s not quite locked in yet.
What’s the story of ‘Murder She Wrote’?
Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher in ‘Murder, She Wrote.’ Photo courtesy of Universal Television.
For those who didn’t grow up in the 1980s or have somehow gotten this far in life not knowing the name Jessica Fletcher, ‘Murder She Wrote’ was a crime procedural drama series that kicked off on CBS in 1984.
It stars Lansbury as Fletcher, a seemingly mild-mannered crime writer who has a penchant for digging into mysteries of all kinds. Working and living primarily in the fictional town of Cabot Cove, Maine, she’s consistently underestimated by police and criminals and ends up solving many murders.
Her travels during the series –– which ran for 12 seasons –– have taken her all over the United States and abroad.
In that time, Lansbury was nominated for an Emmy every single year, and won various awards. She reprised the role in the four TV movies.
Lansbury said in the past that she’d have been open to making a comeback appearance, which would make for a fun cameo in any potential movie. But in a 2015 interview with Zap2It, she said it was no longer feasible:
“I think it would be a downer. In some way, we’d have to show her as a much older woman, and I think it’s better to maintain that picture we have in our mind’s eye of her as a vigorous person. I’m still pretty vigorous, especially in the garden, but if I wanted to transform myself back into the woman I looked like then, it would be ridiculous. And I can’t do that.”
It has since become even less feasible, as the acting legend died in 2022.
Producer Amy Pascal attends the Los Angeles Premiere of Amazon MGM Studios’ ‘Challengers’ at Regency Village Theatre on April 16, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for Amazon MGM Studios.
Amy Pascal is a former Sony chairperson who has become a powerful and influential producer via her Pascal Pictures company.
On the writing front, we have Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, who got their start as reporters at the ‘Wall Street Journal’ and segued into dramatic writing on the staff of ‘Orange Is the New Black’.
They wrote last year’s GameStop share story movie ‘Dumb Money’ and have several scripts in development, including one about the GamerGate phenomenon which Pascal is also producing, and contributed writing to a new take on ‘The Wolf Man’ for Universal (though their script has since fallen by the wayside).
Where else can I see Jamie Lee Curtis?
Oscar® nominee Jamie Lee Curtis arrives on the red carpet of the 95th Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
Curtis is certainly enjoying a career renaissance between the return of the ‘Halloween’ franchise and particularly in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once,’ which scored her the Best Supporting Actress Oscar last year.
She’s been winning further cinematic praise for her role in ‘The Last Showgirl,’ and on TV has been seen in the likes of ‘The Bear.’ Curtis is currently on screens in Prime Video maple syrup heist comedy drama ‘The Sticky.’
On the mystery front, she’s busy filming another Prime Video series, this one based on the Patricia Cornwell ‘Kay Scarpetta’ books, which also stars Nicole Kidman.
When will the ‘Murder She Wrote’ movie be on screens?
Universal has yet to announce anything resembling a release date for the movie –– that will likely have to wait until a director is attached and more deals are closed.
Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher in ‘Murder, She Wrote.’ Photo courtesy of Universal Television.
Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher in ‘Murder, She Wrote.’ Photo courtesy of Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.
There are many examples of TV series making the jump to movie theaters. Some are updates years after the original show went off the air (apart from re-runs) such as ‘The A-Team’ or ‘Charlie’s Angels’.
Others were produced either while the show was still running or not long after, and continued the story with the series cast, including ‘The X-Files’ or ‘Sex and the City’.
‘Murder, She Wrote’, given that it last aired in 1996 (though four TV movies followed, the last released in 2003) falls squarely into the first category and not least because we sadly lost iconic star Angela Lansbury last year.
It’s almost surprising that no one has gotten this far into development on a ‘Murder’ movie given the show’s enduring popularity and cult appeal.
But Universal Pictures (which makes sense since Universal Television produced the show) now has a deal with producer Amy Pascal and Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, who wrote upcoming based-on-truth comedy drama ‘Dumb Money’ to make it happen.
According to Above The Line, Blum and Angelo were hired to write the script before the WGA strike began, but obviously forward movement on that front is in limbo until the writers’ and actors’ strikes are resolved.
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What is ‘Murder She Wrote’?
Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher in ‘Murder, She Wrote.’ Photo courtesy of Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.
For those who didn’t grow up in the 1980s or have somehow gotten this far in life not knowing the name Jessica Fletcher, ‘Murder She Wrote’ was a crime procedural drama series that kicked off on CBS in 1984.
It stars Lansbury as Fletcher, a seemingly mild-mannered crime writer who has a penchant for digging into mysteries of all kinds. Working and living primarily in the fictional town of Cabot Cove, Maine, she’s consistently underestimated by police and criminals and ends up solving many murders.
Her travels during the series –– which ran for 12 seasons –– have taken her all over the United States and abroad.
In that time, Lansbury was nominated for an Emmy every single year, and won various awards. She reprised the role in the four TV movies.
Lansbury has said in the past that she’d have been open to making a comeback appearance, which would make for a fun cameo in any potential movie. But in a 2015 interview with Zap2It, she said it was no longer feasible:
“I think it would be a downer. In some way, we’d have to show her as a much older woman, and I think it’s better to maintain that picture we have in our mind’s eye of her as a vigorous person. I’m still pretty vigorous, especially in the garden, but if I wanted to transform myself back into the woman I looked like then, it would be ridiculous. And I can’t do that.”
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Who is the team behind the new planned movie?
(L to R) Rebecca Angelo, Writer/Executive producer, and Lauren Schuker Blum, Writer/Executive producer, attend the gala screening of ‘Dumb Money’ at the Toronto International Film Festival. Copyright: Eric Charbonneau. Photo By Eric Charbonneau.
Amy Pascal is a former Sony chairperson who has become a powerful and influential producer via her Pascal Pictures company.
Schuker Blum and Angelo got their start as reporters at the ‘Wall Street Journal’ and segued into dramatic writing on the staff of ‘Orange Is the New Black’. They have several scripts in development, including one about the GamerGate phenomenon which Pascal is also producing, and a new take on ‘The Wolfman’ for Universal.
As for ‘Dumb Money’, which chronicles the GameStop short squeeze share affair from the POV of various people who were involved, that movie will be in theaters on limited release on September 22nd before going wide on September 29th.
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Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher in ‘Murder, She Wrote.’ Photo courtesy of Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.
Angela Lansbury at the 25th Anniversary celebration of Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast.’
Angela Lansbury, an award-winning star of stage and screen, and someone whose name is known by different generations, has died. She was 96.
Lansbury, born in London in October 1925, was the daughter of Moyna Macgill, an Irish-born actor who appeared in West End productions and in movies.
A huge fan of the big screen, Lansbury began studying music and acting as a teenager, and following the family’s move to the US during World War II, started studying performance on a scholarship in New York.
She joined her mother during touring appearances in Canada and started work in nightclubs. The family moved once more, to Los Angeles, and Lansbury was discovered by playwright and screenwriter John van Druten.
Right off the bat, Lansbury was acclaimed, earning an Oscar nomination as scheming Cockney maid Nancy in George Cukor’s 1944 thriller ‘Gaslight’.
Another Academy Award nomination followed with her third movie, 1945’s ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’, and her movie career was in full swing.
Her stage career was almost more successful – bowing on Broadway in 1957’s ‘Hotel Paradiso’, she went on to appear in a variety of plays and musicals, winning seven Tony awards.
Plus, despite a host of guest roles on TV, she’ll likely forever be remembered for her long-running performance in CBS mystery series ‘Murder, She Wrote’, which became a massive hit.
Her role as the sleuthing author Jessica Fletcher started in 1984 and saw her notch up a record 12 Emmy nominations and four Golden Globe award wins. She reprised the role between 1997 and 2003 in four TV movies.
Lansbury’s family released a statement regarding her death.
“The children of Dame Angela Lansbury are sad to announce that their mother died peacefully in her sleep at home in Los Angeles at 1:30 AM today, Tuesday, October 11, 2022, just five days shy of her 97th birthday,” the statement reads. “In addition to her three children, Anthony, Deirdre and David, she is survived by three grandchildren, Peter, Katherine and Ian, plus five great grandchildren and her brother, producer Edgar Lansbury. She was proceeded in death by her husband of 53 years, Peter Shaw. A private family ceremony will be held at a date to be determined.”
Angela Lansbury as Nancy Oliver in 1944’s ‘Gaslight.’
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