State of Play Helen Mirren

Description: The original of State of Play was written by Paul Abbott and aired on British television channel BBC One in May-June 2003 and on BBC America in April 2004. Abbott was initially reluctant to sell the film rights to State of Play, fearing a compressed version of his mini-series would be unworkable, but in May 2004 a seven-figure Paramount... ( +expand to view full text )

Description: The original of State of Play was written by Paul Abbott and aired on British television channel BBC One in May-June 2003 and on BBC America in April 2004. Abbott was initially reluctant to sell the film rights to State of Play, fearing a compressed version of his mini-series would be unworkable, but in May 2004 a seven-figure Paramount Pictures-backed bid led by producer Scott Rudin was accepted. The bid prevailed over an offer from Andrew Hauptman's Mission Pictures (backed by Warner Bros.), but the deal fell through before completion. After a second bidding war, Mission acquired the rights for Universal Pictures in December 2004.