The actor, via his and Gary Goetzman's production company, is pitching the project which is based on Neil Gaiman's novel to the network.
- April 15, 2011
AceShowbiz -
Still gearing up to premiere "Game of Thrones", HBO has already planned another project. Deadline reports the pay cabler has begun talks about acquiring rights to Neil Gaiman's novel "American Gods" to be developed into a new fantasy series.
Proposing the idea to HBO are Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, who have been teaming up under their production company Playtone. The project itself was first brought to the duo by Robert Richardson, who is going to write the pilot together along with Gaiman.
Richardson is best known as a cinemtographer whose credits include "Kill Bill", "Inglourious Basterds", "Shutter Island" and recently-wrapped "Hugo Cabret". "American Gods" will be his first significant scripting effort.
As for Gaiman, his novels Stardust and Coraline have been previously brought into big screen. He has also written the script for "Beowulf".
Winning the Stoker and Hugo Award, "American Gods" lays out a battle between two sets of gods, Deadline describes. One set, the traditional spiritual gods and mythological creatures, is in danger of being supplanted by "a new set of gods, who reflect America's preoccupation with technological advancements and obsessions with media, celebrity, technology and drugs." The story will revolve around the adventure of an ex-con called Shadow.
