Sam Raimi moves to TV
Posted by GoreMaster Special Effects on August 28, 2009
Sam Raimi
By Nellie Andreeva – Hollywood Reporter
Filmmaker Sam Raimi, writer-director of “Spider-Man” and “Evil Dead” movies, is moving deeper into prime-time television.
Raimi and Joshua Donen’s Stars Road Entertainment has inked a two-year deal with Sony Pictures TV and has hired CBS senior vice president of drama Robert Zotnowski to spearhead the company’s TV efforts.
Zotnowski has been running the CBS drama department with Christina Davis since the ascent of Nina Tassler to entertainment president in 2004. Davis is expected to run the department solo after Zotnowski exits Friday.
Zotnowski said the goal for Stars Road is to expand its presence on broadcast TV and cable, with a primary focus on drama. Stars Road will develop material of all genres except horror, which will continue to be handled by Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures.
As a TV producer with partner Robert Tapert, Raimi has made his mark in the action-adventure genre for first-run syndication with such hits as “Xena: Princess Warrior” and “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys” and most recently “Legend of the Seeker,” on which Donen also serves as an executive producer.
Raimi’s prime-time efforts have been primarily in the horror genre (CBS’ “American Gothic” and the CW’s “13: Fear Is Real”) and in action-adventure (ABC’s “Spy Game” and Starz’s upcoming “Spartacus”).
On the big screen, Raimi most recently wrote and directed the horror feature “Drag Me to Hell.” He has strong ties with Sony as the director of the studio’s blockbuster “Spider-Man” franchise.
