TGM

http://thedeadcentre.com/2012/01/13/...-coming-to-ae/



Here’s the official announcement from A&E:

DRG

Hopefully it's better than the pilot/tv movie they did in the 80s...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bates_Motel

And didn't they cover this ground in the made-for-Showtime prequel, Psycho IV: The Beginning? Granted, that one wasn't perfect itself.

Timber

Sounds horrible but probably a much watch for me. I hope they don't try and shoehorn in a Marion Crane meeting when they were kids.

Guru Askew

They numbered the sequels II, III and IV but it was like there was little or no continuity between them. I think the only new plot element that recurs in the sequels is the fact that Bates has been released from the hospital. I've never seen "Bates Motel" but I understand it doesn't jibe with any of the sequels either. It's almost like a series with one canonical film and 4 alternate sequels.

So yeah. I doubt they really care about whether or not similar ground has been covered in IV or not. Nor should they. I remember suffering through II and III in hopes that IV would be something of a return to form (which is impossible without Hitchcock but it did have the original screenwriter) only to find it was much, much worse.

I don't know if there's enough material for a TV series but I think there is an interesting story there and IV dropped the ball big time.

islandclaws

Actually, II and III both have strong ties to the original film, particularly II. That's the best of all the sequels. III is bad, but in a terrible '80s kinda way. And Jeff Fahey is all kinds of crazy in it. Perkins always was the standout, though, so his absence will mean this won't be worth a shit.

Anyone ever watched the Bates Motel pilot on YouTube? Oh lordy, it's bad...

DJariya

http://www.deadline.com/2012/07/ae-n...ect-to-series/

A&E officially greenlit this today. 10 episodes ordered. They didn't even shoot a Pilot. It said in the official press release that casting will begin soon.

Carlton Cuse from Lost is the Executive Producer

Groucho

"From the creator of Nash Bridges comes a new kind of horror..."

Shannon Nutt

If they're smart, they'll shoot it in B&W. But if they were smart, they wouldn't have greenlit it without a pilot.

writer106

I saw that 80's pilot/tv movie a few years back on USA and it was pretty bad. I remember part of the plot seemed to imply that the Bates Motel had supernatural powers or something.

DJariya

http://www.deadline.com/2012/08/vera...s-norma-bates/

And Norman Bates Mom has been cast. Vera Farmiga has been cast as Norman Bates Mom.

Good Choice I like her.

DeputyDave

I have a feeling they are going to try to do an American Horror Story kind of thing here.

RichC2

I'm okay with that, you'll know for sure when Taissa Farmiga shows up.

Deftones

Seems like a weird choice. I mean Vera has been in a lot of movies. Not starring roles, but quite a few supporting roles. Wonder why she's coming back to TV. Loved her in Touching Evil, though.

DJariya

I do remember her from Touching Evil. It's funny that show was a rare bust for USA.

I guess Up in the Air could be considered a lead role. But you're right, she's been mostly cast as a supporting character. Her last big movie was Safe House and she was a supporting character in that too.

I'm guessing doing a 10 episode series with regular paychecks coming in is appealing to her.

RichC2

She hasn't been lead very often, only movie I can really think of is Orphan (imo, underrated) and Higher Ground (which she directed). Maybe she just really enjoys horror movies and wanted to be part of a prequel to a classic... who knows. Plus cable production schedules seem to be far less strenuous than broadcast.

islandclaws

From Badass Digest:

Ryan Rotten at Shock Til You Drop has gotten a hold of the script for the pilot of Bates Motel, A&E's new guaranteed 10 episode Psycho prequel show. But this isn't exactly a prequel to the 1960 Psycho, it's more like a prequel to an upcoming reboot of Psycho. The show is set in the modern day, and it features 16 year old Norman Bates with a cell phone going to big high school parties.

The show is set before the opening of the Bates Motel. Norma and Norman Bates move into town after something happens to Norman's dad. Mom sleeps around and begins preparing to open the motel. Meanwhile, it turns out that Norman has an older brother, a 'James Dean type' who rides around on a motorcycle.

Norman's a weirdo already, and his unusual relationship with his mom is in full swing in the pilot. But the show really lets us in on Norman's pecularities in a way I like: it makes him a fan of manga! I knew all those guys were pervs and potential killers. Norman finds a manga with "young, Asian girls in various states of sexual slavery" and squirrels it away for later use. I hope that before he crossdresses as his mom he begins crossdressing cosplay as Sailor Moon or something.

Ryan's rundown doesn't include it, but I've heard that there are murders in the pilot, and that the show is set up in such a way that there will be killings on a regular basis. Whether or not it's Norman doing those killings is another matter...

************************************************************

Whew! For a second I was worried I might actually want to watch this....

dex14

Going younger than I imagined....

Edit: and reading the posted above me...yikes... This sounds like shit.

onebyone

I always thought Freddie Highmore was kind of creepy looking. That doesn't seem like bad casting.

Now the write up from Badass Digest just seems awful. Do we really need to see Norma as a anime loving teenager with an older brother? It just seems like an all around terrible idea.

Mike86

I was mildly interested in this until reading that article from Badass Digest. Sounds awful, I mean seriously Norman going to big high school parties and being into anime and stuff? Screw that. Also if they're planning a reboot I don't really see why. The remake they did back in 1998 was shit and I don't really think it's the type of film that needs an update anyways.

DJariya

The 1st teaser/promo featurette is out:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Nkn5aEadrX4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


It say the show will premiere in March

bluetoast

Are you fucking shitting me with this premise? Now I'm honestly surprised they didn't go the "Real Gilligan's Island" route and had two teams of people play the roles and try to operate a fake hotel.

davidh777

The teaser/trailer doesn't look terrible to me, but I'm not going to be watching.

adamblast

That's about where I am too. In fact I haven't sampled any of 2013's new shows yet, tho I'm vaguely interested in several. Promo's generally don't sell me anymore; I can always catch up in the rare cases where the shows last or prove strongly worthwhile.

davidh777

I haven't even gotten around to watching my season passes of Arrow and Revolution (did watch part of the pilot) yet!

andicus

LOL when he sees his mother having a wank. I guess that's what scarred him...