Apple lands 'Hedy Lamarr' TV series starring Gal Gadot

AppleInsider

Apple has given a straight-to-series order for a Gal Gadot-led TV series about late film legend and inventor Hedy Lamarr.

Gal Gadot and Sarah Treem. Credit: The Hollywood Reporter

The eight-episode series, titled "Hedy Lamarr" and slated to debut on Apple TV+, is being written and executive produced by Sarah Treem, who previously worked on Showtime's "The Affair." Gadot, known for her portrayal of DC's Wonder Woman, will star in the show and also serve as an executive producer.

According to Variety, the series was originally being developed by Showtime but will move to Apple's streaming platform following a "deteriorating" relationship between Treem and the cable network.

"Hedy Lamarr" will follow the true story of the legendary Hollywood glamour girl over a 30-year period from her escape from pre-WWII Vienna to her "fall and eventual disgrace at the dawn of the Cold War."

The series will also explore Lamarr's contributions as an inventor, including a frequency-hopping system, patented by Lamarr and her friend George Antheil, that became a basis for spread spectrum technology still used today.

The series will join an existing stable of premium and star-studded TV series on Apple TV+, including "Defending Jacob," "The Morning Show," and "Dickinson," as well as a larger slate of upcoming projects.

daalseth

That’s Hedley, Hedley Lamarr...😁

jbslough

DAalseth said:

That’s Hedley, Hedley Lamarr...

No it’s right. It’s Hedy. 

edited May 2020

lkrupp

DAalseth said:

That’s Hedley, Hedley Lamarr...😁

Don't forget Lili von Shtüpp, "The Teutonic Titwillow" 

lkrupp

JBSlough said:

DAalseth said:

That’s Hedley, Hedley Lamarr...

No it’s right. It’s Hedy. 

You have obviously never seen Blazing Saddles. Sad

chasm

JBSlough said:

DAalseth said:

That’s Hedley, Hedley Lamarr...

No it’s right. It’s Hedy. 

Ooh, SOMEbody hasn’t seen Blazing Saddles ...

Anyway, Hedy died just a mile or so from where we were living at the time. We had NO idea such an amazing movie queen and brainiac was living right by us! This is great news and I think it’s a perfect story for our times with what I think will be the perfect actor for the role! Sadly I’m sure it will take quite a while to debut but I look forward to it.

dewme

chasm said:

JBSlough said:

DAalseth said:

That’s Hedley, Hedley Lamarr...

No it’s right. It’s Hedy. 

Ooh, SOMEbody hasn’t seen Blazing Saddles ...

Anyway, Hedy died just a mile or so from where we were living at the time. We had NO idea such an amazing movie queen and brainiac was living right by us! This is great news and I think it’s a perfect story for our times with what I think will be the perfect actor for the role! Sadly I’m sure it will take quite a while to debut but I look forward to it.

Agreed. Hedy Lamarr’s contributions to fundamental communication resiliency technology that is essential to so many products we now take for granted Is amazing. Good to see Apple helping to bring her significant contributions to a much wider audience. 

spamsandwich

Gal Gadot really does look surprisingly close to Hedy Lamarr. Hopefully she’s developed enough acting chops to handle the role.

entropys

You could not make that movie today. Not a chance.

itguyinsd

entropys said:

You could not make that movie today. Not a chance.

Given the current morals and values (or lack thereof) of half the nation these days, I wouldn't be so sure about that.  

bestkeptsecret

entropys said:

You could not make that movie today. Not a chance.

You couldn't make that movie even back in its day. Mel Brooks wanted Richard Pryor to do the role, but Hollywood was too scared to work with him.

bestkeptsecret

SpamSandwich said:

Gal Gadot really does look surprisingly close to Hedy Lamarr. Hopefully she’s developed enough acting chops to handle the role.

I find Gal to be one of the most charming actors on and off camera. She made me like Wonder Woman, who was a character I never liked in the comics.

I agree that her acting can be greatly improved though.

entropys

bestkeptsecret said:

entropys said:

You could not make that movie today. Not a chance.

You couldn't make that movie even back in its day. Mel Brooks wanted Richard Pryor to do the role, but Hollywood was too scared to work with him.

That would have been interesting. But I don’t think Pryor and Wilder together would have worked as well for the movie. Comedy duos need a straight man.

edited May 2020

daalseth

ITGUYINSD said:

entropys said:

You could not make that movie today. Not a chance.

Given the current morals and values (or lack thereof) of half the nation these days, I wouldn't be so sure about that.  

I believe Mel Brooks himself said that. 

jpellino

Now they'll have to make one about Randolph Scott.

razorpit

entropys said:

You could not make that movie today. Not a chance.

I’m pretty sure you aren’t allowed to watch that movie today, or at least admit to watching it in many “public circles”.

crowley

entropys said:

bestkeptsecret said:

entropys said:

You could not make that movie today. Not a chance.

You couldn't make that movie even back in its day. Mel Brooks wanted Richard Pryor to do the role, but Hollywood was too scared to work with him.

That would have been interesting. But I don’t think Pryor and Wilder together would have worked as well for the movie. Comedy duos need a straight man.

Not a fan of Stir Crazy?

wizard69

This could be very interesting if done well.    I'm not sure a long series is justified but a movie certainly would appeal to many.

daalseth

wizard69 said:

This could be very interesting if done well.    I'm not sure a long series is justified but a movie certainly would appeal to many.

That’s something that I see a lot. Quite a few shows that I think “ok you had material for a film, a documentary, maybe three or four episodes, but really a series? 

applezulu

DAalseth said:

wizard69 said:

This could be very interesting if done well.    I'm not sure a long series is justified but a movie certainly would appeal to many.

That’s something that I see a lot. Quite a few shows that I think “ok you had material for a film, a documentary, maybe three or four episodes, but really a series? 

Broadly speaking, a 90-minute film contains the equivalent narrative content of a short story. This is why (with a few notable exceptions) biopic films are usually so terrible. You can’t wedge the full arc of a well-lived life into a short story. The best biopic films in recent times have instead opted to tie a few key items of a subject’s life together without even attempting to tell the story of their whole life. First Man is a good example, showing, against a backdrop of personal tragedy, Neil Armstrong’s ice water in the veins focus that helped him avert disaster in an X-15 flight where he was bouncing off the atmosphere, a Gemini docking maneuver where the ship nearly spun out of control, and the Apollo landing where he was seconds from running out of fuel while trying to find a suitable landing site. So this is to say a three-decade arc of Hedy Lamarr’s life undoubtedly contains enough of interest to make a series.

crowley

wizard69 said:

This could be very interesting if done well.    I'm not sure a long series is justified but a movie certainly would appeal to many.

There was a documentary Bombshell released a few years ago that was very good.