News

NEW YORK -- Sam Shepard and Frank Whaley have been cast in the ESPN original telefilm Ruffian. The horse racing drama is set to premiere on ABC in June 2007, in conjunction with ABC's coverage of the Belmont Stakes, after which it will air on ESPN and other Walt Disney Co.-owned outlets. Shepard plays trainer Franky Whiteley, who guides a filly racehorse through the 1970s. Whaley will play sportswriter Bill Nack. Production on the project is expected to begin March 20 in Shreveport, La. Orly Adelson is executive producing Ruffian, penned by Jim Burnstein, Garrett K. Schiff and Ross Parker. Yves Simoneau (USA Network's The 4400 and FX's 44 Minutes) is on board to direct. Adelson and her Orly Adelson Prods. have done a number of original series and telepics for ESPN, including CodeBreakers and the series Playmakers.

Gerard Bocaccio has signed a new two-year deal to stay with FX as the head of longform development and production. Bocaccio, senior vp entertainment, also will continue to develop some series programming for the channel. Bocaccio has been with FX since 2001 and has played a part in developing FX's Emmy-winning drama The Shield and the drama series pilot Thief, which stars Andre Braugher. FX telepics produced during Bocaccio's tenure include Sins of the Father, The Pentagon Papers and 44 Minutes, which ranks as the most-watched program in FX's 11-year history.

A&E is in negotiations with Jurgen Prochnow to play the role of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the upcoming biopic See Arnold Run. While terms of the contract are still being finalized, A&E is looking to tap the German-born Prochnow (The English Patient) for Run, which is scheduled to begin shooting next month in Southern California and could air as early as the fourth quarter (HR 6/30). J.B. Rogers (American Pie 2) will direct from a script by Matt Dorff (ABC's Inside the Osmonds). A&E declined comment. A&E has already cast Roland Kickinger to play a younger version of Schwarzenegger in Run, which will focus on his gubernatorial bid as well as his early bodybuilding career. Cypress Point Prods. (44 Minutes) and Stu Segall Prods. (The Last Ride) are producing Run, with Stu Segall, Gerald W. Abrams and Michael Goldstein serving as executive producers. Paramount Television will handle distribution of the film. Still to be cast is the role of Schwarzenegger's wife, Maria Shriver.

David Grant has resigned as president of Fox TV Studios after nearly seven years, sources said. Former ABC Family president Angela Shapiro is said to be taking the reins of the News Corp.-owned company, with an announcement of the shift expected today. Grant has been the head of Fox TV Studios since its launch in 1997. The company includes alternative and longform divisions as well as Regency TV, Fox TV Studios' joint venture with New Regency Enterprises that launched in 1998. During Grant's tenure, the company produced such projects as FX's highest-rated movie 44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shootout, FX's breakthrough series The Shield as well as the Fox comedies Malcolm in the Middle and The Bernie Mac Show, both through Regency TV.

NEW YORK -- A&E has greenlighted an original film about the rise of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Titled See Arnold Run, the two-hour unauthorized biopic is being fast-tracked through development for a premiere timed to the presidential conventions late in the summer of 2004. To be produced by Cypress Point Prods. (44 Minutes), Run will blend drama and humor to trace Schwarzenegger's life from his early days as a bodybuilder to his recent political triumph being elected governor of California.

Eric Poticha has been promoted to vp movies and miniseries at Fox Television Studios. In his new position, Poticha will continue to oversee longform projects for the division headed by David Madden, which has added to its slate Murder at the Playboy Mansion, a comedy/thriller for USA Network, and has fast-tracked Eater, a sci-fi project for FX produced by Jan De Bont. Poticha, who conceived the idea for the studio's FX telefilm 44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shootout, developed the idea for Murder with Playboy supremo Hugh Hefner and Playboy's AltaLoma Entertainment film and TV arm. The project, which Poticha describes as " Legally Blonde with Playmates," centers on a murder that takes place during a party at the Playboy Mansion, which the Playmates help solve using bunny logic. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Daniel Petrie Jr., who wrote the original script, is set to direct.

NEW YORK -- FX scored the highest ratings in its nine-year history with Sunday's original film 44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shootout. Shootout drew a 4.8 household rating, which translates to 6.1 million viewers and 3.9 million households. FX's previous highest-rated program was last year's NASCAR Winston Cup Race, which reached 5.9 million viewers. This year's Winston also aired Sunday, drawing a 4.7 household rating and netting 5.4 million viewers. 44 Minutes, which aired from 8-10 p.m., also notched a 3.4 rating among viewers 18-49, making it the highest-rated program in that demographic for the week in basic cable -- even topping TNT's coverage of the NBA playoffs, which grabbed the week's biggest household tally on May 29.