Rob Zombie has teamed with American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis to develop a mini-series about the Charles Manson Family murder-spree in the summer of 1969.
Variety reports the series, in the early stage of development for FOX TV, will see Zombie direct and Ellis write the script.
Zombie has long been fascinated by the Manson Family slayings, which left seven people dead in the Los Angeles area. Among the victims were actress Sharon Tate, who was eight and a half months pregnant at the time with the child of director Roman Polanski, and prominent Hollywood hairstylist Jay Sebring.
“I have been obsessed with this insane story since I was a kid, so obviously I jumped at the chance to be involved in this incredible project,” said Zombie. “After speaking with Bret, I immediately realized that we shared the same vision for this epic madness.”
The killings were so gruesome, and the stories of Charles Manson’s level of control of his drug-addled young followers so disturbing, that Manson was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy charges even though he was never found to have committed a homicide himself.
Manson was sentenced to death in 1971, but the sentence changed to life in prison when the U.S. Supreme Court deemed the death penalty unconstitutional the following year (the court later reversed itself, and California reinstated the death penalty, but Manson’s life-in-prisonment sentence was left standing). He has been denied parole 12 times.
To date, Zombie has directed several movies, including “House Of 1000 Corpses” (2003), “The Devil’s Rejects” (2005), and “The Lords Of Salem” (2013).
On the road to promote his latest album, “Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor”, the rocker just completed playing shows on Australia’s traveling Soundwave festival and will launch a spring US tour April 26 in Fort Myers, Florida.
Zombie will also release a forthcoming live DVD, “The Zombie Horror Picture Show”, in May.
See also:
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VIDEO: Rob Zombie previews forthcoming live DVD
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