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Airdate: Catch-22

Wartime classic, adapted by two Aussies, gets the George Clooney touch on Stan.

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George Clooney’s upcoming Catch-22 will screen on Stan in May, and based on this trailer it’s one to look forward to.

Based on the novel of the same name written by Joseph Heller, it is executive produced and directed by Clooney who will also co-star alongside Christopher Abbott (The Sinner, First Man), Kyle Chandler (The Wolf of Wall Street, Bloodline),  Hugh Laurie (The Night Manager, House) and Giancarlo Giannini (Quantum of Solace, Casino Royale).

It has been written by two Aussies, Luke Davies (Lion) David Michôd (Animal Kingdom).

All six episodes will be available on Stan from May 18.

Catch-22 is the story of the incomparable, artful dodger, Yossarian (Abbott), a US Air Force bombardier in World War II who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy, but rather his own army which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to avoid his military assignments, he’ll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule which specifies that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers which are real and immediate is the process of a rational mind; a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but a request to be removed from duty is evidence of sanity and therefore makes him ineligible to be relieved from duty.

Catch-22 has been adapted as a six-episode, hour-long limited drama series from Paramount Television, Anonymous Content, George Clooney and Grant Heslov. Catch-22 is executive produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov (Argo) on behalf of Smokehouse Pictures, along with Richard Brown (“True Detective”) and Steve Golin (Spotlight) on behalf of Anonymous Content. Luke Davies (Lion) and David Michôd (Animal Kingdom) are co-writers and executive producers for the series. Ellen Kuras (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) serves as producer and will direct two episodes. Clooney and Heslov will also each direct two episodes.

Saturday May 18 on Stan.

4 Responses

  1. As I recall, Joseph’s book was anti-war, anti-military, anti-bureaurocacy, anti-religion, anti-psychiatry, anti-business ethics, anti-romance with an anti-social element and has now been re-written as an anti-depressant antidote to our increasingly anti-democratic world by two antediluvian inspired antipodeans and hopefully, shown on Aunty ABC.

  2. I wonder if they’ll redo the ‘man/raft/airplane’ and the ‘wound on an evacuation aircraft’ sequences for the new series. Those 2 sequences in the original film are the only times in a cinema I’ve ever instinctively covered my eyes with my hands. Despite those sequences, I didn’t like the film at all – it felt like it had a significant ‘Haight-Ashbury’ influence on the storytelling. So no, this new TV series is out for me.
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  3. The original movie was a classic but was also very quirky and very much a product of its time so this new version will be interesting just to see if it offers anything new or becomes just another vehicle for contemporary political messaging, which could be a temptation for Mr Clooney. As WWII movies appear to be making a comeback I shall be watching this show with interest, it’s a shame Netflix couldn’t have got the rights to the show it in HDR10, but you cant have everything.

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