Mr. Murder | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Genre | Crime Thriller Science fiction |
Based on | Mr. Murder by Dean Koontz |
Screenplay by | Stephen Tolkin |
Directed by | Dick Lowry |
Starring | Stephen Baldwin |
Theme music composer | Louis Febre Mark Snow |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 2 |
Production | |
Producers | Kenneth Kaufman George Jackson Ann Kindberg Dean R. Koontz Rob Lee Doug McHenry Debbie Smith |
Cinematography | Greg Gardiner |
Editor | Brent White |
Running time | 193 minutes |
Production companies | Elephant Walk Entertainment Endemol Entertainment Patchett Kaufman Entertainment Pro 7 |
Original release | |
Network | TVNZ |
Release | September 21, 1998 |
Network | ABC |
Release | April 26 – April 29, 1999 |
Mr. Murder is a 1998 American science fiction-crime thriller television miniseries starring Stephen Baldwin based on the 1993 book of the same name by Dean Koontz. It was first broadcast in New Zealand on September 21, 1998. [1] The first part then aired on ABC in the United States on Monday, April 26, 1999, at 9:00 p.m. and the finale aired on Thursday, April 29, at 9:00 p.m. [2]
Father and Son Drew Oslett Sr.(James Coburn) and Jr. (Thomas Haden Church) are shadowy operatives who create assassins and now through pioneering genetically engineering and cloning intend to create a perfect untraceable assassin. After electrocuting their intended candidate to gain his DNA, the tissue samples are contaminated and replaced by those belonging to Marty Stillwater (Stephen Baldwin) who is a successful mystery novel writer. Seven years later his clone Alfie is genetically engineered to be a perfect soldier and has been conditioned to be a remorseless killing machine. But unbeknownst to his creators he has developed a telepathic bond with Marty along with Remote Viewing capabilities. The clone is jealous of Marty's life and family, and intends to replace Marty. This intention prompts the Osletts to take a hit out on all the Stillwaters.
Koontz sold the film rights to Mr. Murder to Savoy Pictures after the book's publication. The adaptation was initially scheduled to be a big budget theatrical feature in 1996 starring Bruce Willis as Marty Stillwater and to be directed by Uli Edel. [3] However, this version never came into fruition.
With the feature film unable to get off the ground, the rights were sold to a different production company that developed the project as a miniseries on a much smaller budget. [4] This adaptation was directed by Dick Lowry from a teleplay by Stephen Tolkin. The cast included Stephen Baldwin as Marty Stillwater, Julie Warner as Paige Stillwater, Thomas Haden Church as Drew Oslett Jr., and James Coburn as Drew Oslett Sr., a character not in the book. It was broadcast in New Zealand on September 21, 1998, [1] and was later broadcast in the United States on ABC on April 26 and April 29, 1999. [2]
Ray Richmond of Variety.com gave the miniseries a negative review, writing that it did not make any sense and that the only difference between the identical twins was their manner of speaking. [2]
Dean Ray Koontz is an American author. His novels are billed as suspense thrillers, but frequently incorporate elements of horror, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and satire. Many of his books have appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list, with fourteen hardcovers and sixteen paperbacks reaching the number-one position. Koontz wrote under a number of pen names earlier in his career, including "David Axton", "Deanna Dwyer", "K.R. Dwyer", "Leigh Nichols" and "Brian Coffey". He has published over 105 novels and a number of novellas and collections of short stories, and has sold over 450 million copies of his work.
James Harrison Coburn III was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.
Lee Ann Remick was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film Days of Wine and Roses (1962) and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role in Wait Until Dark (1966). She also earned seven Emmy Award nominations.
Todd Anthony Bridges is an American actor. He portrayed Willis Jackson on the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and had a recurring role as Monk on the sitcom Everybody Hates Chris. Bridges worked as a commentator on the television series TruTV Presents: World's Dumbest... from 2008 to 2013.
Mercury Rising is a 1998 American action thriller film starring Bruce Willis and Alec Baldwin. Directed by Harold Becker, the film is based on Ryne Douglas Pearson's 1996 novel originally published as Simple Simon, which was the working title of the film. Willis plays Art Jeffries, an undercover FBI agent who protects a nine-year-old autistic boy, Simon Lynch, who is targeted by government assassins after he cracks a top secret government code.
Patrick McKenna is a Canadian comedian and actor. He is best known for playing Harold Green on the television series The Red Green Show and Marty Stevens on the television series Traders.
Alexandra Maria Lara is a Romanian-German actress who has appeared in Downfall (2004), Control (2007), Youth Without Youth (2007), The Reader (2008), Rush (2013), and Geostorm (2017).
The Sports Hall of Fame of New Jersey was established in 1988 to honor athletes, teams, events and contributors associated with the state of New Jersey. There is currently no physical site or structure for the hall, but its members are honored with plaques that are displayed at Meadowlands Arena, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford.
The Golden Globe is a 1998 science fiction novel by American writer John Varley. The book takes places a few years after the conclusion of Steel Beach. It was nominated for Best Science Fiction Novel during the 1999 Locus Awards.
Mr. Murder is a horror novel by the best-selling author Dean Koontz, released in 1993.
Edward Joseph Gorman Jr. was an American writer and short fiction anthologist. He published in almost every genre, but is best known for his work in the crime, mystery, western, and horror fields. His non-fiction work has been published in such publications as The New York Times and Redbook.
John Grant Mitchell Jr. was an American actor. He appeared on Broadway from 1902 to 1939 and appeared in more than 125 films between 1930 and 1948.
James Earl Ray was an American fugitive who was convicted of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. After the assassination, Ray fled to London and was captured there. Ray was convicted in 1969 after entering a guilty plea—thus forgoing a jury trial and the possibility of a death sentence—and was sentenced to 99 years of imprisonment.
Last Exit to Brooklyn is a 1989 drama film directed by Uli Edel and adapted by Desmond Nakano from Hubert Selby Jr.'s 1964 novel of the same title. The film is an international co-production between Germany, the UK, and the United States. The story is set in 1950s Brooklyn and takes place against the backdrop of a labor strike. It follows interlocking storylines among the working class underbelly of the Red Hook neighborhood, including unionized workers, sex workers, and drag queens.
The history of the 1954 to 1968 American civil rights movement has been depicted and documented in film, song, theater, television, and the visual arts. These presentations add to and maintain cultural awareness and understanding of the goals, tactics, and accomplishments of the people who organized and participated in this nonviolent movement.
Last Train from Bombay is a 1952 American thriller film directed by Fred F. Sears and starring Jon Hall, Christine Larson and Lisa Ferraday. It was produced by Sam Katzman for distribution by Columbia Pictures and partly shot at the Iverson Movie Ranch. The film's sets were designed by the art director Paul Palmentola.
The Five also known as Harlan Coben's The Five, is a British mystery thriller miniseries created by crime author Harlan Coben and written primarily by Danny Brocklehurst. Tom Cullen, O. T. Fagbenle, Lee Ingleby and Sarah Solemani star as childhood friends Mark, Danny, Slade, and Pru, who are reunited when DNA evidence left at a murder scene is revealed to be from Mark's younger brother Jesse, who disappeared twenty years earlier. The series first broadcast on 15 April 2016 on Sky1 and consists of ten episodes, with two episodes broadcast each week consecutively. Set in the fictional town of Westbridge, the series was filmed in Liverpool, Wirral, Runcorn and surrounding areas including Frodsham.
The Outsider (2018) is a horror novel by the American author Stephen King. The novel was published by Scribner.