‘Chinatown’ Writer Towne To Pen Mini-Series About Pompeii

Dave Horwitz — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 19:16:34 +0000

Academy Award winning screenwriter Robert Towne (Chinatown, The Last Detail) has signed on to write a mini-series based on the best selling Robert Harris novel “Pompeii.” The novel was originally going to be adapted by Roman Polanski and made into a feature starring Orlando Bloom and Scarlett Johansen, but the writers strike came along and messed that whole thing up. Now Ridley Scott has acquired it and wants it to go forward as a television mini-series, with the great Towne handling writing duties. Here’s the plot summary:

The period-based tale is centered on Marcus Attilius Primus, a young Roman engineer who works on the Aqua Augusta aqueduct that feeds the ancient cities of the Bay of Naples. While battling a vile real estate speculator who has a water embezzlement scheme, Primus learns that Vesuvius is about to erupt and races to warn his true love before it’s too late.

Sounds intriguing, and if you ask me, this version is a lot more appealing than the proposed Polanski version. Not just because of Towne, but because Orlando Bloom as the lead in an epic is just so, um… pre writers strike. (The Playlist)

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‘Chinatown’ Writer Towne To Pen Mini-Series About Pompeii