‘Red’ Director Robert Schwentke to Direct ‘The Lobotomist’ Pilot For HBO
Posted on Monday, November 28th, 2011 by Russ Fischer
While working on Shutter Island, producer Brad Fischer, writer Laeta Kalogridis and star Leonardo DiCaprio were all taken with Jack El-Hai‘s book The Lobotomist: A Maverick Medical Genius and His Tragic Quest to Rid the World of Mental Illness. The tome is a history of Walter Freeman, the doctor who was the first proponent of the frontol lobotomy in the United States. He developed the trans-orbital lobotomy method, using a tool derived from a standard kitchen ice pick. (As seen in Brad Anderson’s film Session 9.)
The Fischer/Kalogridis/DiCaprio trio were interested enough that they optioned the book and brought it to HBO as possible fodder for a series. Now a drama is in the works, called The Lobotomist, and Robert Schwentke (Red, The Astronaut’s Wife, R.I.P.D.) will direct the pilot from a script by Daniel Thomsen. Read More »
