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Networks racing to make Smart movie
HOLLYWOOD, California (Variety) -- The race is on to produce a made-for-TV movie about the abduction and miracle rescue of Utah teen Elizabeth Smart. Just hours after news broke that Smart had been found, at least one major agency had dispatched staffers to Salt Lake City to secure the life rights to the 15-year-old's story, while producers began calling network and cable movie chiefs to pitch angles for a possible film. Journalists who covered the case also are being wooed. NBC executives seem most intrigued by the idea of pursuing a production, even if it's an unofficial story based on the wide range of information available in the public domain. The biggest hurdle is determining whether a movie could be on the air before the 2002-03 season ends in little more than two months. "It would be very, very tight," one network executive said of the idea of slamming together a TV movie in such a short time frame, noting that even ABC needed three months for its quickie tearjerker on the Pennsylvania coal miners' rescue last fall. "It would be virtually impossible," the exec added. "But I can't say it's impossible." NBC programmers probably wouldn't be interested in a Smart film if there was even the slightest chance another network might be on the air first. NBC killed its planned biographical take on former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani after it became clear USA Network would win the race to air. USA would also seem a logical home for a Smart movie. "It would be a great movie for USA's crime night," one top agent said, adding the cable network may not be interested in an unauthorized film if another network scored the official rights. Because it is the only broadcast network with a weekly TV movie franchise, agents and producers also have been buzzing CBS about a Smart film. "CBS has gone back to doing more traditional movies, and this story is such a great, traditional TV movie," one agent said. CBS is said to be taking pitches, like other networks. While the Smart case is in many ways a slam dunk for a TV movie -- "It's a perfect movie with a great twist of an ending," said one industry veteran -- there are some risks associated with bringing the teen's story to the tube. Numerous unanswered questions about the case remain, such as what sort of abuse Smart may have suffered and whether she tried to escape her captors. Network executives also must decide whether to tell the tale of the Smart family's nine-month agony over their daughter's fate, the story of Elizabeth Smart's life with accused abductor Brian David Mitchell -- or both. One agent predicted a Smart TV movie might cut back and forth between Elizabeth Smart and her family. "If you can create that feeling that she's like 100 feet away from them, that would be great drama," the agent said. If ABC, CBS or NBC weren't able to get a movie on the air by the end of May, some observers also wonder whether the story could wait until the November sweeps. By that time, audiences might be oversaturated with information about the case via "Dateline" and "20/20" investigations into the Smart story. USA, which launches new shows year-round, wouldn't have a problem with an early summer premiere. Whatever happens with the Smart movie -- or, potentially, movies -- it's clear viewers are interested in the story. A hastily assembled "48 Hours" focusing on Smart gave CBS some of its best 10 p.m. Wednesday ratings of the season, while the syndicated "John Walsh Show" also saw a Nielsen surge from its exclusive interview with Smart's father on Thursday. Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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