Great loves last forever...and then gets remade into television programs. That's at least the philosophy underlining The Notebook, the Nicholas Sparks novel that was adapted by Nick Cassavettes into a stage-five tearjerking melodrama, which is now being developed into a TV series according to CW head Mark Pedowitz. At the CW TCA panel today, Pedowitz announced that Sparks, who writes nothing but dull, overtly tragic romances about attractive white people, was working with them on the adaptation. Here's what Pedowitz had to say about how the project is moving along:
The Notebook is a very very well received book and motion picture. It is going to be set after world war two. at this point, the pilot is not done, I don't believe that we're going to see the older couple and what they become. But again, things change and this is just now the beginning of the conversation. I am thrilled that Nick Sparks wanted to do it with the CW. I'm looking forward to it.
It's not entirely surprising that The CW would be interested in Sparks' property. His novels make for relatively cheap productions and often make a great deal of money, especially when they are released in the dead-zone months early on in the year. They make for lucrative products, without a doubt, but this is not, by any means, a story that needs further explanation or more detail. Those familiar with the story will, of course, note that the film and novel both touch on every single romantic war drama cliche in the book. There's always a chance that a new angle on the story could bring out some previously untapped nuance in the story, but from the evidence given by Sparks' oeuvre, my skepticism is outweighing by optimism for this one.
