Some films seem downright miraculous today, when you realize the collection of talent that came together to make them happen. Take the 1993 cult-classic film True Romance, which was directed by Tony Scott (Top Gun), written by Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill), and had a cast that included Christian Slater (Heathers), Patricia Arquette (Severance), Dennis Hopper (Speed), Val Kilmer (Batman Forever), Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight), Brad Pitt (Fight Club), James Gandolfini (The Sopranos), Chris Penn (Reservoir Dogs) sBronson Pinchot ( Perfect Strangers), Paul-Ben Victor (Lanterns), Tom Sizemore (Heat) (Michael Rapaport (Higher Learning), and Christoher Walken (King of New York). Every one of those aforementioned people had major careers in TV and/or film, making True Romance look even more important as a convergence of major talent.
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The 1997 film Cop Land is a lot like True Romance: a crime-drama with a stacked cast of now-famous talent; a breakout feature from a now-famous filmmaker. It was written and directed by James Mangold, who is now best known for directing films like The Wolverine and Logan, Ford v Ferrari, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Cop Land wasn’t a major success, but it made modest money at the box office ($63 million on a $15 million budget), and more importantly, showcased Mangold’s talent for cinematic storytelling, gripping drama, and violent, thrilling action. It sold audiences on complex portraits of cops, crooks, and mobsters, barely a year or two before HBO would run with that concept, producing shows like The Sopranos and The Wire.
And now, Cop Land is getting the same opportunity to tell its story like those shows did.
Cop Land Is The Latest Film In The Trend of TV Reboots
Cop Land is being rebooted as a TV series, with James Mangold himself co-writing, directing, and executive producing for Paramount Television, with Miramax Television co-producing. This is Mangold’s first time writing a TV series (he’s previously directed and executive-produced TV shows), and it marks another step in the overall deal he signed with the new Paramount corporation, which has merged with Skydance and looks to acquire Warner Bros. soon as well. Robert Levine, co-creator of FX’s Jeff Bridges action-thriller series The Old Man, will co-write and executive produce Cop Land with Mangold. Reportedly, the show is already receiving offers from several networks.
Cop Land is definitely a film that is rich enough in lore to justify a TV adaptation; if anything, the film could barely fit all of the characters, interpersonal drama, and conflicts it was exploring. The film was set in a small New Jersey town mostly populated by a squad of corrupt police officers, who are exempted from Internal Affairs oversight. However, when certain members of the gang start to slip into drugs and betrayal, their leader, Lt. Ray Donlan (Harvey Keitel), starts to clean house – the bloody way. Local Sheriff Freddy Heflin (Sylster Stallone) can’t serve on the police force, but is loyal to Donlan for giving him a badge. However, Freddy’s physical impairments don’t stop him from being a true cop at heart: when evidence of Donlan’s gangland activities becomes undeniable, Freddy has to step up and bring justice to his town. But who can really police the police?
Casting the Cop Land TV series will be tough: the movie had, as mentioned, one of the most stacked casts since True Romance or Pulp Fiction. Harvey Keitel (Resevior Dogs, Pulp Fiction) and Sylvester Stallone (Rocky, Rambo) are just two of the heavyweight actors Mangold pulled into the film: Goodfellas stars Ray Liotta and Robert De Niro are both in it, as are filmmaker Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights), Robert Patrick (The Unit, T2), Michael Rapaport (True Romance), Annabella Sciorra (The Sopranos), Noah Emmerich (The Truman Show), Cathy Moriarty (Raging Bull), John Spencer (L.A. Law, The West Wing), Malik Yoba (New York Undercover), Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie, The Sopranos), Paul Herman (The Irishman), Wu-Tang Clan’s Method Man (The Wire), Tony Sirico (The Sopranos), John Ventimiglia (The Sopranos, Blue Bloods) and others. Basically, you can’t go one scene in Cop Land without seeing an actor you recognize by face and/or name appear onscreen. Honestly, it was one of the biggest selling points of the film: seeing “gangster” or “killer” actors playing cops; seeing action-hero Stallone playing a doofy sheriff… There was a meta-awareness to the casting that the TV series may struggle to mimic.
As for a crime-drama-mystery with many juicy layers, deadly secrets, and betrayals ranging from money-skimming and murder to secret affairs? Sounds like good TV! Discuss all your favorite TV show over on the ComicBook Forum!
