As the year comes to a close and we look back at the cinematic smorgasbord that 2011 was, it's easy to overlook movies as little and competent as "The Lincoln Lawyer," Lionsgate's adaptation of the best-selling Michael Connelly novel that starred Matthew McConaughey as a slippery LA lawyer who does business out of his town car. Did it push the medium in bold new directions? No, but it was a really solid thriller, one that didn't insult your intelligence or treat you like a small, sugar-riddled child. It was announced at the end of the summer that the movie would be turned into a weekly series for ABC, with the participation of Connelly and the film's writer John Romano, back for more. But it looks like we'll be getting even more of lawyer Mickey Haller, as Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns recently announcd on CNBC (via Deadline) that there will be a big screen sequel too.
"We do have some network shows we're developing," Burns said. "'The Lincoln Lawyer' was a very successful movie for us and we're developing that with ABC. And we're going to do a sequel on 'Lincoln Lawyer' as well." What's interesting is that the Mickey Haller character has been featured in four Connelly books (the most recent, "The Fifth Witness," was released earlier this year) and in two of those books he crosses over with Michael Connelly's other famous character, beloved private eye Harry Bosch. Earlier in the year Connelly said he was close to having the rights to the Bosch character back in his control after years of development hell (he cites Bosch's "internal" nature as the reason he's never been brought to the big screen), so there's a distinct possibility, with Connelly's involvement, that Bosch could first appear in a Mickey Haller movie. Or maybe even the TV series?
We wonder, though, how much appeal a television series will have without McConaughey, who inhabited the role perfectly, and if people are willing to pay for a character they get at home for free every week. Seems like it could be the biggest franchise for the mini-major since the "Saw" series, which Burns confirms, in the same interview, will be back at some point. THANK GOD. He also makes mention of a new Netflix show called "Orange is the New Black" which might be the most obnoxious television show title since "Homeboys in Outer Space." It will be produced and created by Jenji Kohan, who created "Weeds" for the studio on Showtime in an effort to make moms with premium cable feel like they are watching something "risque." Watch the interview below.