Captain Phillips writer Billy Ray has signed on to write an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s final novel, The Last Tycoon, for HBO as a potential drama series.
Ray will write and direct the pilot, notes The Hollywood Reporter. If it does get picked up to series, he would stay on as executive producer. Party of Five co-creator Chris Keyser will be the showrunner, while other executive producers include Perri Kipperman, Josh Maurer, David Stern and Alix Witlin.
The Last Tycoon was left unfinished by Fitzgerald at the time of the Great Gatsby writer’s death. It is based on the life of Hollywood producer Irving G. Thalberg and his clashes with MGM chief Louis B. Mayer. Fitzgerald based Monroe Stahr on Thalberg and Pat Brady on Mayer. It was published in 1941 and Elia Kazan directed Robert De Niro in the 1976 film version.
According to Deadline, the show is a Sony TV production. Five networks were reportedly interested, but HBO won out.
Ray’s credits include The Hunger Games, State of Play and Captain Phillips. His TV credits include NBC’s Earth 2.
HBO has several other new projects in the works, including Ryan Murphy’s Open and Damon Lindelof’s The Leftovers. The network is also home to Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones.
image: Amazon
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