James Cameron preps True Lies for TV

After smashing box-office records with Titanic, James Cameron segued to television with a primetime series. Now, after topping Titanic’s record haul with his new box-office mammoth Avatar, Cameron is returning to television with what will no doubt become one of the hottest projects this development season: a TV series take on his 1994 action comedy True Lies that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis. I hear the project, from Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment and 20th Century Fox TV, is about to be taken out to the networks. Rene Echevarria is the writer/showrunner, executive producing with Cameron and Lightstorm’s Rae Sanchini and Jon Landau.

The 1994 movie centered on Harry Tasker (Schwarzenegger), a computer salesman/family man who lives a double life as a government spy. During a top-secret mission, Harry discovers that his mousy wife Helen (Curtis), seeking adventure, has embarked on an affair with an used cars salesman who has seduced her by pretending to be a spy. Harry sets out to give her the excitement she craves while battling Middle Eastern terrorists who threaten nuclear war with the U.S.

Sixteen years after its release, True Lies continues to be a fan favorite, with speculation about a potential sequel never dying. Cameron wrote and directed the movie, which was based on the 1991 French film La totale! penned by Claude Zidi, Didier Kaminka and Simon Michael. The trio shared screenplay credit with Cameron on the Hollywood adaptation. Like Titanic and Avatar, True Lies was at the time the most expensive movie ever made, with budget rumored to be in the $100- $120 million range. And like Titanic and Avatar, True Lies more than made back its budget. True Lies also marked the first Lightstorm project to be distributed under Cameron's multi-million dollar production deal with 20th TV's sibling movie studio 20th Century Fox.