'Minority Report' and 'The Devil's Advocate' TV Shows On the Way

The list of popular movies being turned into TV shows is growing, and it's not likely to slow down any time soon. But while it may seem like this is a new phenomenon it's been happening for a long time. Remember the 1980s sitcom, Alice? Based on Martin Scorsese's 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. The same goes for M.A.S.H., Clueless, Fargo, and of course Buffy the Vampire Slayer which were all turned into either television classics or reasonably successful shows. There have been plenty of duds (remember Bad Teacher?), too, and what's curious about the current trend are the questionable movies being chosen.

On that note, NBC is bringing the 1997 "Satan was a Lawyer" flick The Devil's Advocate to the small screen. Matt Verne (Bag of Bones) will pen the scripts for the show about a hot shot attorney who comes to realize he's working at Satan's personal law firm. Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron co-starred in the film but it's basically only remembered for Al Pacino's hilarious rantings ("He's a sadist!!") as Lucifer. John Wells (ER) is producing and he's going to have to work hard to find somebody to top Pacino. [Deadline]

The other side of the coin has Steven Spielberg, who is already producing a Halo series and the CBS thriller Extant, turning his 2002 sci-fi flick Minority Report into a TV show. He's going big with this one by hiring Godzilla screenwriter Max Borenstein to adapt the film, which was based on a story by Philip K. Dick, about a futuristic police force and the PreCrime unit tasked with arresting criminals before a crime is committed with the help of three psychics. Tom Cruise starred in the movie version and a big name will be targeted for the show, as well.  [TheWrap]