CROSS is the story of a “family” of mercenaries, bonded together by their own pain, hatred, and deep sense of disenfranchisement.
Cross Movie Update
The “three short novels” referred to in the Hollywood Reporter “story” already exist. Two were by Jim Colbert and Andrew Vachss, the third was co-written with the notorious T. Rex Miller. Book #1, entitled Cross: Genesis is the property optioned by New Line, not the comic book.
The books had, in fact, already been sold in a 3-book deal but the writers pulled it because they wouldn’t meet certain of Mr. Vachss and Mr. Colbert’s terms and conditions.
Mr. Vachss & Mr. Colbert then decided to reverse the usual book-to-movie process, (with which Mr. Vachss is all-too-well experienced) by going with a movie first and then selling the book rights. They will not even attempt to do so until the first movie is in production.
As anyone who had read the Cross material in Born Bad knows, the crew is hardly “childhood friends who fight urban crime,” … in fact, it consists of abandoned and abused children who bonded in prison, in forced labor camps, and in the military. Mercenaries they are. And professional criminals as well. Nothing like Burke (as so many have speculated).
The guy who really made all this happen is Lloyd Segan, the man who put the “produce” in “producer.” Now everyone can read Born Bad and go back to their casting discussions, because the comic book is no reference at all.
Bandit
Cripple
Crossfire
Head Case
Kidnap
Mad Dog
Statute of Limitations
Stone Magic
Value Received
Harvest Time
Pigeon Drop
(Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine
September, 1999)
The Concrete Puppy
Two-Way Radio
(Das Magazin, Switzerland, 1996)
Everybody Pays (novella)
Manchevski to bear NL ‘CROSS’
Milcho Mancheveski, the Macedonian filmmaker responsible for the Oscar-nominated Before the Rain, is set to write and direct New Line Cinema’s Cross.
Based on Andrew Vachss and James Colbert’s six-issue comic book series published by Dark Horse, the project is about a group of misfit mercenaries and childhood friends who fight urban crime. In conjunction with the film, the writers will also create three short novels on the same topic.
Lloyd Segan is producing the project, which was brought to the studio by New Line director of development Brian Witten. Witten and president of production Michael De Luca are supervising the film. Erik Ellner, New Line’s executive director of business and legal affairs, brokered the deal for the studio.
Manchevski, who is repped by ICM’s Ben Smith and Robert Newman, wrote and directed Before the Rain, which received a foreign-language Oscar nomination in 1994. The movie told the story of the tragic, far-reaching effects of ancient blood feuds and modern-day civil strife in the remnants of Yugoslavia. The movie is partially in English.
CROSS will begin shooting next summer. Manchevski is also attached to Fox 2000’s Ravenous.
CROSS stories may be found in Andrew Vachss’ BORN BAD collection.
