12 hours ago
Report: Ryan Murphy to Rescue Bret Easton Ellis Project 'The Shards'
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Prolific out producer and writer Ryan Murphy may be about to save "The Shards" from the scrap heap after the high-profile Bret Easton Ellis project lost its perch at HBO.
"'The Shards' is a fictionalized memoir of Ellis' final year of high school in 1981 Los Angeles," World of Reel detailed. "Jacob Elordi was rumored to star, but there never was any confirmation about his casting."
Even if the "Saltburn" actor was once slated to star in the series, that's no longer necessarily the case, the article noted; alignments of talent and projects in development are notoriously slippery. The writeup related that the project has switched directorial hands a couple of times already, with "Call Me By Your Name" and "Queer" director Luca Guadagnino having originally been named to helm "The Shards," after which word was that Kristoffer Borgli would be in the director's chair.
Murphy has ushered a multitude of projects to FX and Netflix, but it's unclear where "The Shards" might end up if he had indeed acquired it. In any case, the report said, citing an unnamed source, Ellis – who had been deeply involved in the HBO series – was not planning to be as involved this time around.
"Ellis' fallout with HBO had to do with creative differences, and the route of the show steering into a whole other direction, with multiple new scripts happening without Ellis' approval," World of Reel relayed.
In the past year alone, Murphy saw a plethora of series launch – some of them returning ("American Horror Story"), some brand new ("Doctor Odyssey"), some of them limited by design ("American Crime Story: Aaron Hernandez," "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story") and others open-ended ("9-1-1" and its spinoff "9-1-1 Lone Star").
At least three upcoming Murphy-related series have already been announced: a satire on "Ozempic culture" called "The Beauty," a historical drama about John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy titled "American Love Story," and a legal drama, "All's Fair," slated to star Glenn Close and Kim Kardashian.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
