Posted: Mon., Mar. 7, 2011, 5:32pm PT

Michael Chabon casts spell on HBO
'Hobgoblin' about magicians, conmen who battle Hitler
By Cynthia Littleton

Scribe Michael Chabon and his wife, author Ayelet Waldman, have set up an offbeat drama project at HBO that revolves around a motley group of conmen and magicians who use their skills at deception to battle Hitler and his forces during WWII.

John Lesher and Adam Kassan are exec producing through their Le Grisbi Prods. banner. Project, dubbed "Hobgoblin," is in the very early stages of development.

Chabon and Waldman will co-write the script, marking the first time they've collaborated professionally, and they will also exec produce.

Chabon is a sought-after script doctor and the author of novelsincluding "Wonder Boys," which was adapted as a feature starring Michael Douglas in 2000 and "The Yiddish Policemen's Union," with an adaptation of that novel now in development at Sony with Scott Rudin and Joel and Ethan Coen. He and director Andrew Stanton adapted Edgar Rice Burroughs novel "John Carter of Mars" for Disney, with that pic set for release in March of next year.

Waldman has penned fiction and nonfiction tomes, including "Bad Mother" and "Love and Other Impossible Pursuits," the latter of which was adapted into the 2009 Natalie Portman starrer "The Other Woman." She is also writes periodically for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post.

Chabon and Le Grisbi are repped by UTA. Waldman is with RWSG Agency. Chabon and Waldman are also represented by Mary Evans Inc. and attorney David Colden.

Contact Cynthia Littleton at [email protected]

Michael Chabon Sets Up 'Hobgoblin' Drama at HBO
12:56 AM 3/8/2011 by Lacey Rose

The project centers on a group of magicians and con men who use their skills at deception to battle Hitler and his forces during WWII.

HBO is getting into the business of magicians, con men and, yes, Hitler.

Michael Chabon and his wife, Ayelet Waldman, have set up the drama project, tentatively titled Hobgoblin, at HBO. The potential series centers on a group of magicians and con men who use their skills at deception to battle Hitler and his forces during World War II.

Le Grisbi Production’s John Lesher and Adam Kassan will serve as executive producers, with authors Chabon (Wonder Boys, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union) and Waldman (Bad Mother, Love and Other Impossible Pursuits) set to co-write and executive produce.

Darren Aronofsky Joins Magic World War II Drama Series In Development At HBO
By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday June 16, 2011 @ 7:48pm PDT

Darren Aronofsky, who is currently shopping Noah, his edgy re-telling of the Noah's Ark story, has also come on board an HBO drama series project, which has been in development at the pay cable network for the past several months. Titled Hobgoblin, the drama is being written by the husband-and-wife duo of Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman and sounds like Inglourious Basterds with magicians. It revolves around a group of con men and magicians using their skills of deception to help defeat Hitler during World War II. Aronofsky is set to direct the potential pilot and executive produce with Chabon, Waldman, John Lesher and Adam Kassan. Aronofsky is the latest director to take a TV gig after a strong showing at the Oscars in the past couple of years. David Fincher, who was nominated alongside Aronofsky for best director this year, is doing House of Cards with Kevin Spacey, which landed at Netflix. And last year, Kathryn Bigelow followed her Oscar win for The Hurt Locker with a directing stint on the HBO pilot Miraculous Year. On the writing side, Alan Ball and Aaron Sorkin both segued from winning Oscars to creating an HBO series, Six Feet Under and More As This Story Develops, respectively.