HBO Pacts With 'Luck's' David Milch for William Faulkner Adaptations

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Ahead of its Dec. 11 sneak preview, HBO has doubled down on Luck's David Milch.

The premium cable network on Tuesday inked Milch's Redboard Productions into an exclusive multiyear television deal to develop TV series and films based on selections from William Faulkner. The pact will also cover any further services on his upcoming horseracing drama Luck, which will begin its run in January.

Redboard, through an agreement with the William Faulkner Literary Estate, will produce films and TV series based on the works of the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author. The deal covers all of his 19 authors and 125 short stories, and gives  HBO the exclusive first opportunity to finance, produce and distribute the projects.

Under the terms of the agreement, Milch will partner with Lee Caplin, the executor of the William Faulkner Literary Estate and chief executive of Picture Entertainment Corp., to choose which works to develop, package and produce.  Both Milch and Caplin will act as executive producers on the projects, with Milch serving as the executive writer in charge of adapting the works. Olivia Milch will serve as a coordinating producer on the projects.

“We are especially pleased to continue our longstanding relationship with one of the industry’s most talented contemporary writers,” says HBO programming president Michael Lombardo.  “We know that whatever David brings to the HBO table will be exciting and innovative.”

Adds Milch: “I’m delighted to expand my longstanding relationship with HBO to encompass the adaptation of some of the most important literary works by any American writer into television films and series. As we embark on this ambitious project, our first commitment is to serve the material, and we look forward to identifying and collaborating with the best screenwriters and filmmakers to help each of the pieces find its ideal form onscreen.”

Milch is producing Luck, starring Dustin Hoffman, alongside Michael Mann. He also is reteaming with his NYPD Blue co-creator Steven Bochco for a legal drama set up at NBC.

Luck premieres Sunday, Jan. 29 on HBO. Milch is repped by ICM, who brokered the deal with Redboard and the William Faulkner Literary Estate.

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit