A 1980 film "American Gigolo" which starred Richard Gere is being developed to adapt a TV drama series on Showtime. The film is said to be the stepping stone of Richard Gere to stardom after accepting the role as a male escort.
"American Gigolo" is a thriller and drama film that was released in the 1980s, which starred Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton, Hector Elizondo, Nina Van Pallandt and Bill Duke. The film was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and was written and directed by Paul Schrader.
'American Gigolo' adaptation into TV series
The producer Jerry Bruckheimer first announced that "American Gigolo" will be adapted as a TV series on Showtime last October 2014. However, the only update for the planned TV series is that Neil LaBute is confirmed to write the show, which the story is set in present day, Slashfilm reported.
The officials of Paramount TV and Jerry Bruckheimer joined forces to adapt the "American Gigolo" into a TV series. Bruckheimer will executive produce the series along with Jonathan Littman. Kristie Anne Reed will be the co-executive producer and James Oh as producer of the series. The 1980 "American Gigolo" director will work as an executive consultant for the TV series.
'American Gigolo' story and Richard Gere's role as an escort
"American Gigolo" is set in Los Angeles introducing Julian Kaye (Richard Gere) as a high-end male escort. His being materialistic put Julian to a situation with a framed murder case that nobody wants to help even though he has a witness and a valid alibi, TVLine reported.
In the Rolling Stone interview, Richard Gere said that he accepted the role in "American Gigolo" that Christopher Reeve rejected not because he wanted to become a sex symbol. However, he said that becoming "a movie star, rock star, whatever part of that is, yes, you want to be desired." He explained that he took the role because he wanted to be recognized and wanted "to be watched and appreciated."
Meanwhile, the "American Gigolo" movie received mixed reviews from the movie critics with Paul Schrader's vision for the movie. The critics are yet to see how the screenwriter and director Neil LaBute will collaborate with Paul Schrader and adapt "American Gigolo" into an interesting TV series.