Deadline is reporting that Mel Gibson is teaming with legendary Chinatown screenwriter Robert Towne for Dancing Bear, a TV adaptation of James Crumley’s hardboiled crime novel.
Set in Montana, Dancing Bear follows Milo Dragovitch, a part time detective who becomes entangled with a cast of unsavory characters in a web of criminal conspiracies, blackmail, land grabs, grizzly bears, guns and drugs.
“It’s basically Chinatown set in a 7-11 in Montana in the ’70s with a whole lot of cocaine,” said Gibson, who will executive produce with Towne, as well as directing the pilot.
“I’m thrilled to be working with Mel, whom I’ve known for years,” added producer Mike Medavoy. “This is a project Robert Towne and I developed together back at TriStar, and I’m glad to see it finally find its medium in the television of today.”
Gibson last helmed Hacksaw Ridge, which saw him nominated for Best Director. He is currently developing a sequel to The Passion of the Christ entitled The Resurrection.
