Yet another movie is being reimagined for the small screen. It’s come to light that NBC is turningSt. Elmo’s Fireinto a TV show. The 1985 coming-of-age flick is being adapted by Josh Berman, creator ofDrop Dead Diva. Moves like this have become common practice in Hollywood as of late, as networks are struggling to maintain an audience as viewers' attention is being pulled in a million different directions. The thinking seems to be that having a recognizable name will help, at least initially, get some eyeballs.
Details are slim right now, but according to multiple reports, NBC purchased the pitch and is now officially in development on the series. The hour-long drama will be a modern adaptation of theJoel Schumacherdirected movie of the same name. It’s said to center on “a group of close friends struggling with career, commitment and the responsibilities of adulthood.” That is a general enough premise that could be expanded to include quite a bit about becoming an adult, while also sticking close enough to the source material to keep its namesake.
The originalSt. Elmo’s Firesimilarly centered on a group of recent college graduates who find themselves on a series of misadventures in the real world. The group consists of Kirby, a waiter who wants to be a lawyer; Kevin, a writer who desires the wild Jules; Alec, whose political ambitions cause troubles with his girlfriend, Leslie; and Wendy, a quiet girl in love with a boy named Billy, who is a husband, father and drunk. Together they grapple with adulthood. The cast includesEmilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Mare Winningham. The group is known as the Brat Pack, since they starred in a number of 80s teen movies together.
Amazingly, this isn’t the first time someone tried to turn this exact movie into a TV show. Back in 2009, in an age whenturning once-popular movies into showswasn’t quite as common, Sony Pictures Television took a stab at it, with the project set up at ABC. It didn’t end up getting very far. This new version hasn’t yet been ordered to series by NBC, so it’s not a guarantee this one will make it to air either. It seems to be in the relatively early stages of the process and a lot can happen.
St. Elmo’s Firewas originally released in 1985. The movie wasn’t exactly a critical success at the time (currently boasting a 44 percent on Rotten Tomatoes). It was a relatively modest hit, grossing $37 million at the box office at the time. It has, however, maintained an audience over the years. Can it find new life in the modern age as a TV show? And, more importantly, will thisgo directly to NBC proper, or will this end up on the new Comcast streaming service? We’ll be sure to keep you posted as further details on the project are made available. This news was previously reported byThe Wrap.
