Syfy has just unveiled that Oscar winner Jamie Foxx and his production company Foxxhole are bringing a high-profile horror anthology series to the small screen later this year.  In fact, Foxx is doing just about everything: he plans to executive produce, write and direct the series’ five episodes, which are set to debut in the fall during Syfy’s month-long celebration of all things Halloween.

The as of yet unnamed series will riff off of classics such as Tales from the Crypt and The Twilight Zone, focusing on creepy tales of woe for those engage in bad behavior (as Bela Lugosi would say, “Beware … beware!”.  Hit the jump for more on the series.

Screenwriter Noah Oppenheim has been tapped to pen a new adaptation of George Orwell‘s classic dystopian novel 1984.  The terrifying tale centers on a man who falls in love, and attempts to break free of an authoritarian surveillance society “Big Brother” is always watching.  The book was previously adapted in 1984 (couldn’t miss that opportunity!) by Michael Radford and starred John Hurt, Richard Burton, and Suzanna Hamilton.  Deadline reports that the new version of is being produced by Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer, along with Julie Yorn and Rick Yorn.

Oppenheim is a hot screenwriter who still doesn’t have a produced film to his credit.  His Jacqueline Kennedy biopic Jackie hit the 2010 Black List, and he’s also attached to remakes of Snabba Cash and WarGames along with an adaptation of the young adult novel The Maze Runner.  1984 has always resonated with readers since it was published in 1949, so perhaps it will be Oppenheim’s his first script to get in front of cameras.  Hit the jump for a synopsis of the novel.

Soon, the dystopian novel to which all other dystopian novels are compared will be featured in a new adaptation. George Orwell’s genre-defining 1984 is being put into production via a joint effort of Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment along with Julie Yorn’s LBI Entertainment. The now-classic tale of Winston Smith, a company man for the Ministry of Truth who spends his days writing revisionist history for the government only to act on dreams of rebellion and his desire for love, will get a modern interpretation. Street artist Shepard Fairey, best known for his design of the “Hope” poster for President Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential Election campaign, was reportedly instrumental in bringing the project to the studios; this is interesting in part due to the amount of propaganda and “cult of personality” that 1984 deals with. The producing group is currently on the search for writers to establish a direction on the project before setting it up at a studio. For more on 1984, hit the jump; we’re watching.

20^th Century Fox is grabbing the rights to James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales’ book ESPN: Those Guys Have All the Fun, which chronicles the creation of the sports network empire. The book is told using stories told directly by past and present ESPN broadcasters, producers, and personalities. Deadline reports that there is significant interest in the project from directors and screenwriters all over town, as it’s ripe with dramatic content similar to The Social Network.

I’ve yet to read the book, but I’ve heard it’s significantly dense. A good adaptation (paging Aaron Sorkin) pulling from the best stories could result in a fantastically entertaining movie that’s sure to draw a huge interest from the sports-minded American public. Michael De Luca, Dana Brunetti and Julie Yorn are producing. Hit the jump for a description of the book.