After ‘War Of The Roses’ Remake, Warren Adler Outfit Signs Two-Picture Deal With ‘The Fighter’ Producer Todd Lieberman

Andreas Wiseman
·3 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Shortly after it revealed a buzzy remake of The War Of The Roses, it emerges that Adler Entertainment Trust (AET), the production company dedicated to adapting the works of Warren Adler, is partnering with Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Todd Lieberman (The Fighter) and his production company, Hidden Pictures, on an initial two-project production deal.

Both projects under the partnership will be produced by Lieberman under his Hidden Pictures banner and will be executive-produced by AET’s Jonathan R. Adler and Michael Adler, sons of the late author and playwright. Alex Young, Hidden Pictures President, will help oversee the partnership.

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The two projects being adapted are:

“Untitled Fiona Fitzgerald Detective Series is an hour-long crime drama series based on the eight-book Fiona Fitzgerald Mystery series written by Warren Adler, set in the streets of Washington DC and its political backrooms. Fiona Fitzgerald, born into an illustrious family of DC insiders, abandoned her obvious path in favor of becoming a full-time detective within the DC Metro PD. Precariously balancing two opposite worlds, she lives somewhere in the middle, attempting to fit in with the blue collar cops she relies on while brilliantly taking advantage of the elite connections she grew up with to solve the capital’s most high profile and politically sensitive crimes.”

“Trans Siberian Express is an epic cold-war thriller. The multi-part series is based on Warren Adler’s best-selling book by the same name. When American cancer specialist Dr. Alex Cousins is secretly sent to Moscow to save the Soviet Politburo Chief, he overhears a sinister plan to nuke China. When the Russians discover he has been listening, he is immediately dispatched, without the ability to communicate, on a 6,000-mile journey aboard the infamous Trans-Siberian Express – thus ensuring he won’t get back in time to warn the US of the imminent attack.”

Lieberman’s credits include The Fighter, Rescue Rangers, Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast, Wonder, The Aeronauts, Stronger, The Muppets, Warm Bodies, The Proposal and The Divergent Series films.

AET and Searchlight Pictures recently announced a first-look two-year production deal starting with The Roses starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman. The film is based on the novel by Warren Adler and is written by Tony McNamara and executive-produced by Jonathan Adler and Michael Adler. Directed by Jay Roach, the dark comedy is a reimagining of the 1989 movie The War of the Roses.

“This exciting new partnership is a beautiful marriage of formidable production might anchored by these wonderful stories from our father’s brilliant work. Untitled Fiona Fitzgerald Detective Series is a perfect example of Warren Adler’s contemporary work – it’s a dark, biting and relatable story which honestly reflects modern relationships in his signature pull-no-punches style. And Trans Siberian Express is a deeply plotted and well-researched historical thrill ride; a Cold War tale of love, loss, and nuclear intrigue. We are delighted to continue the legacy of the Warren Adler brand and Todd is the ideal producer to bring these two incredible projects to life,” said Adler Entertainment Trust CEO Jonathan R. Adler.

Some of the current projects in active development for AET include The Children of the Roses, Target Churchill/Mission Churchill, Little Black Dress, Torture Man, Residue (written and directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall), Funny Boys, Flanagan’s Pursuit (based on the two book series), Never too Late for Love (a short story collection that inspired the PBS American Playhouse trilogy called The Sunset Gang, that garnered Doris Roberts an Emmy nomination), and Trans Mongolian Express.

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