Miami Vice to Tokyo Vice: Michael Mann to direct Ansel Elgort in HBO Max series
Michael Mann is trading one Vice for another.
The four-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker, who helmed films Miami Vice, Heat, and Collateral, is set to direct the pilot episode of Tokyo Vice, the HBO Max series based on journalist Jake Adelstein’s book.
Mann will also executive produce the crime-drama, which stars Baby Driver‘s Ansel Elgort and Godzilla: King of the Monsters‘ Ken Watanabe.
Adelstein’s novel and the series follows his first-hand account of covering the metropolitan police beat as an American reporter working for Tokyo newspaper, putting him in the path of the yakuza.
Elgort, who will also star in Steven Spielberg‘s West Side Story remake, will star in the 10-episode series as Jake. Watanabe, who’s also executive producing, will play Hiroto Katagiri, a Tokyo Police Department detective and father figure to Jake.
Tokyo Vice, based on a teleplay by EP J.T. Rogers, will begin production in Japan this February.
Mann is one of the first big fish directors caught for the HBO Max platform. He last directed the film Blackhat, which starred Avengers: Endgame actor Chris Hemsworth, and also helmed the pilot for and produced HBO’s Luck series with Dustin Hoffman. Mann also executive produced Ford vs. Ferrari, featuring Christian Bale and Matt Damon.
Steven Soderbergh is also developing a film with Meryl Streep for 2020 on HBO Max.
The platform from WarnerMedia continues to bulk up its offerings to compete with other standalone streaming outlets. Recently, it scored The West Wing, Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Sesame Street, and Studio Ghibli’s repertoire of animated films. Original programs like Grease TV spin-off Rydell High, The Boondocks reboot, a Practical Magic prequel, and Danai Gurira’s project with Black Panther costar Lupita Nyong’o.
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