Joel and Ethan Coen are planning a return trip to "Fargo." The St. Louis Park natives will be executive producers on a potential hourlong series for FX that will be loosely based on their Minnesota-spoofing 1996 film.
The comic crime drama, about a pregnant small-town police chief pursuing a pair of homicidal kidnappers in the middle of a bitterly cold winter, poked fun at Minnesotan accents and colloquialisms, as well as regionally stereotypical traits like passive aggression and stoicism. It was nominated for seven Academy awards, bringing in one for the Coen-written script and another for Frances McDormand's performance as hilariously laconic Chief Marge Gunderson.
The new project will be co-produced with MGM Television, which owns the "Fargo" title as part of its library. MGM took a previous stab at this in 2003, with a pilot starring Edie Falco and directed by Kathy Bates, but without the Coens' cooperation. It ended up in the wood chipper.
The pilot will be written by Noah Hawley, a former writer for Fox's "Bones" who also created two recent ABC series, "My Generation" (canceled after two episodes) and "The Unusuals" (which ran one season).
It's too early to guess whether this project will ever hit the small screen, but with the Coens' involvement, it probably stands a much better chance.
KRISTIN TILLOTSON
Schwarzenegger event at MOA Arnold Schwarzenegger is coming back to the Mall of America next month to sign copies of his new autobiography, "Total Recall" -- part of the former California governor's public re-emergence on several fronts. Schwarzenegger's appearance at the Bloomington mall is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Oct. 4 in the rotunda. The Mall of America was featured in several scenes of Schwarzenegger's "Jingle All the Way," a 1996 Christmas movie. "Total Recall" chronicles the former California governor's journey from world-class bodybuilder to movie star to leader of the nation's largest state. It is due out next week. On Monday, Schwarzenegger appeared at the University of Southern California to officially launch the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy with a symposium. Schwarzenegger also has a pair of movies in post-production. One of them, "The Tomb," co-stars his old buddy Sylvester Stallone. The other, "The Last Stand," opens in January. His return to the spotlight will also include a segment Sunday on CBS' "60 Minutes" to promote the book and discuss, among other things, the affair he had with his maid that resulted in a son out of wedlock and ended his marriage to Maria Shriver.
PAUL WALSH, AP
