Neil Marshall To Direct Pilot Of Michael Bay's Pirate Show 'Black Sails'

Television

by Joe Cunningham
August 29, 2012 4:25 PM
2 Comments

Thanks to Johnny Depp, pirates successfully staged a comeback on the big screen during the course of the last decade. Not content with that, they now look set to conquer the small screen too. NBC are busy prepping their pirates series “Crossbones,” Fox are working on a couple of projects, and back in May Starz announced that they has issued a straight-to-series order for a new pirate adventure drama called “Black Sails” with Michael Bay exec producing. Who wouldn’t want to see a pirate show from Michael Bay, right?

To be fair, it sounds like the kind of idea that could play to Bay’s strengths. The eight-episode series will be set two decades before the events of the classic novel “Treasure Island” and follows Captain Flint and his men. Threatened by extinction, they fight for the survival of the notorious criminal haven New Providence Island – a debauched paradise teeming with pirates, prostitutes and thieves. Sounds like you need a director who has shown that he can kick ass on a high-action, sex and violence-fueled episode of cable television.

Hey, what’s that guy who directed the Blackwater episode of “Game of Thrones” up to?

Well, nothing that’s going to stop him directing the “Black Sails” pilot is the answer. Neil Marshall (“The Descent”) has signed on the helm the pilot and you’d be hard pushed to find anyone who would argue that he isn’t the perfect choice. Bay has reportedly been very hands on in creating the show’s visual style and it will be Marshall who now translates (read: improves) that when it goes in front of cameras. The series is currently in pre-production over in Cape Town, South Africa, and Starz are reportedly eyeing the show for an early 2014 launch. [Deadline]

Television

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2 Comments

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ben | August 30, 2012 12:51 AMReply

I read the scripts and they are great. Your little writer jab, whatever, Bay has directed some of the best looking cinema around. His shot compositions are among the best in the business. I work with Spielberg, and you should hear how he compliments Bay's shoot skill.
JD | August 30, 2012 5:19 AM

I work in the industry also and its nothing against Michael Bay's skill as a filmmaker (which is certainly not terrible) its just that he chooses to whore himself out to studios and direct their franchises and/or potential blockbusters, and when a new potential franchise/ blockbuster script comes in you can be sure he'll be interested which has earned him the moniker of "The Hollywood Whore" at more than a few agencies. It also has to do with the lack of creativity he's shown in picking his projects he's a one trick pony and the guy studios call upon when they need someone to helm a franchise /blockbuster with very little depth and lots of action.