Master filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock once said, “Always make the audience suffer as much as possible.” In that vein, Universal Cable Productions (UCP) has inked a deal with the Alfred Hitchcock Estate to develop Welcome to Hitchcock, an inspired take on the master filmmaker’s unique brand of storytelling that encompassed such iconic stories as The Birds, Psycho and the popular television series “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.”
UCP will collaborate on the project with Vermilion Entertainment, the newly-formed television production company by the founders of Cross Creek Pictures, as well as Academy Award-nominated producer Chris Columbus‘ 1492 Pictures/Ocean Blue Entertainment. This marks Vermilion’s first project for scripted television. Columbus, Academy Award-nominated producer Michael Barnathan, Timmy Thompson and Todd Thompson will serve as executive producers along with the Hitchcock family. Columbus will direct the pilot. Emmy award winner Casey Tebo will serve as co-producer.
The Welcome to Hitchcock original anthology series will focus on a single season-long mystery or crime in the spirit of the classic Hitchcock style and legacy. Plans are in place for the studio to continue collaborating with the Hitchcock Estate to design a series that will entertain Hitchcock enthusiasts and entice an entirely new generation of fans.
“Long after his death, Alfred Hitchcock continues to be one of the most celebrated directors and visionaries in the world, a master manipulator of the macabre,” said Dawn Olmstead, Executive Vice President of Development, Universal Cable Productions. “We’re honored that the Hitchcock Estate has put its trust in our studio to pay homage to his work.”
“Our grandfather always collaborated with the best and the brightest to help shape his vision,” said Katie O’Connell-Fiala on behalf of the Hitchcock Trust and MTK Corporation, which was founded by O’Connell-Fiala and her sisters, Mary O’Connell-Stone and Tere O’Connell-Carrubba. “We’re confident that Universal Cable Productions will take great care in helping us to continue preserving his legacy.”
Just as the original series utilized prominent directors from Hitchcock himself to George Stevens Jr., Arthur Hiller, Stuart Rosenberg, Robert Stevenson and Robert Altman, the Welcome to Hitchcock anthology series will seek out premiere filmmakers and talent to pay homage to the spirit of Hitchcock’s style and legacy.
(Photo Credit: WENN.com)
