Given that the 1999 original spawned two straight-to-video sequels, it’s almost surprising that Cruel Intentions has taken this long to attract a TV suitor. But with today’s telly landscape, in which any film has the potential to launch a small screen version, it was inevitable that someone would try, with NBC ordering a pilot script for a series.
Unusually, this one actually features one of the original filmmakers – director Roger Kumble – working alongside Lindsey Rosin and Jordan Ross, who cooked up The Unauthorized Musical Parody Of Cruel Intentions. We suppose it makes sense to have people who obsessed over the film enough to write a spoof working on a new take.
As appears to be another current trend for shows based on movies such as Minority Report, the film will not focus on Annette Hargrove and Sebastian Valmont (played in the film by Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe), but their progeny, Bash Casey.
The pilot’s story kicks off with the 16-year-old lad stumbling across his late father’s journal and discovering the deep, dark secrets his family has hidden from him. The revelations prompt him to leave his quiet life in Kansas and head to the Brighton Preparatory Academy in San Francisco, taking up a scholarship. There, he dives into a world of sex, money and corruption. Assuming the network makes the pilot, Kumble will direct it. Next week, expect to hear movement on fellow 1999 release Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. After all, somebody might want to do something with that franchise, eh?