Sci-Fi Film and Television Developments

The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag
3/5/09 – SCI FI Wire reported that Alex Proyas said he's writing his own film adaptation of Robert A. Heinlein's 1942 SF novella, The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag.  "It's one of these stories that's come from my childhood, in that I read it when I was quite young," Proyas said. "That was a fairly formative story for me. It really did inspire Dark City in some ways. It's one of those pieces that you read when you're young, and I'd not really read it for maybe 20 years. Going back to it, I was actually quite surprised at how much stuff had filtered into my other work from the story."  The story centers on Jonathan Hoag, a man who one night realizes that he doesn't know what he actually does during the day and is confounded by the reddish residue he sees under his fingernails each night. Hoag hires a husband-and-wife private investigator team, Ted and Cynthia Randall, to follow him, and what the Randalls discover is horrifying—and involves mirrors, dark dreams, a missing 13th floor and some folks who call themselves Sons of the Bird.  "There's just something incredibly creepy about it," Proyas said. "Look, I think the whole concept in the story is this parallel universe that exists on the other side of a mirror. I think that's really quite fascinating. I know there have been quite a few stories done about that and a lot of films done with that concept, but it's something that I'm really excited to explore, just this universe that exists in the looking glass."

8/20/08 - Dark City director Alex Proyas will write and direct an SF movie based on The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag, a Robert A. Heinlein novella, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  Phoenix Pictures principals Mike Medavoy, Arnie Messer and Brad Fischer will produce the film, which they describe as a complex psychological thriller with plenty of action as well as some love interest. A title change is likely.  Originally published in 1942, the offbeat tale centers on a man who becomes increasingly disturbed when he realizes he cannot account for his activities during the day or even what he does for a living. He divulges his problem to the husband-and-wife partners of a private detective agency, and their investigation leads to a series of revelations they could never have imagined.

AlienAlmanac.com 2009