First Projects Unveiled are “Untitled Fiona Fitzgerald Detective Series” and “Trans Siberian Express”

Los Angeles, CA (April 22, 2024) – Adler Entertainment Trust (AET), the production company dedicated to adapting Warren Adler’s vast library of 56 novels, numerous plays and 100 short stories, is partnering with the Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning producer Todd Lieberman (The Fighter, The Proposal) and his production company, Hidden Pictures, on an initial two-project production deal, it was announced today by AET CEO Jonathan R. Adler.

Lieberman received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture and won a PGA Award for The Fighter, directed by David O. Russell. In May 2022, Lieberman released Rescue Rangers starring Andy Samberg and John Mulaney on Disney+, which won the Emmy for Outstanding Television Movie. His many credits include Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast, Wonder, The Aeronauts, Stronger, The Muppets, Warm Bodies, The Proposal and The Divergent Series films. Prior to launching Hidden Pictures in 2022, Lieberman produced under the highly successful Mandeville Films banner which he continues to co-own and which has generated more than $4 billion in box office receipts as well as multiple #1 box office openings.

Both projects under the partnership will be produced by Lieberman under his Hidden Pictures banner and will be executive produced by AET’s Jonathan R. Adler and Michael Adler. Alex Young, Hidden Pictures President, will help oversee the partnership.

The two projects announced are: “Untitled Fiona Fitzgerald Detective Series” is an hour-long crime drama series based on the eight-book Fiona Fitzgerald Mystery series written by Warren Adler, set in the streets of Washington DC and its political backrooms. Fiona Fitzgerald, born into an illustrious family of DC insiders, abandoned her obvious path in favor of becoming a full-time detective within the DC Metro PD. Precariously balancing two opposite worlds, she lives somewhere in the middle, attempting to fit in with the blue collar cops she relies on while brilliantly taking advantage of the elite connections she grew up with to solve the capital’s most high profile and politically sensitive crimes.

“Trans Siberian Express” is an epic cold-war thriller. The multi-part series is based on Warren Adler’s best-selling book by the same name. When American cancer specialist Dr. Alex Cousins is secretly sent to Moscow to save the Soviet Politburo Chief, he overhears a sinister plan to nuke China. When the Russians discover he has been listening, he is immediately dispatched, without the ability to communicate, on a 6,000-mile journey aboard the infamous Trans-Siberian Express – thus ensuring he won’t get back in time to warn the US of the imminent attack.

“This exciting new partnership is a beautiful marriage of formidable production might anchored by these wonderful stories from our father’s brilliant work. ‘Untitled Fiona Fitzgerald Detective Series’ is a perfect example of Warren Adler’s contemporary work – it’s a dark, biting and relatable story which honestly reflects modern relationships in his signature pull-no-punches style. And ‘Trans Siberian Express’ is a deeply plotted and well-researched historical thrill ride; a Cold War tale of love, loss, and nuclear intrigue. We are delighted to continue the legacy of the Warren Adler brand and Todd is the ideal producer to bring these two incredible projects to life,” said Adler Entertainment Trust CEO Jonathan R. Adler.

Run by Jonathan R. Adler and Michael Adler (Warren Adler’s sons), AET and Searchlight Pictures recently announced a first-look two-year production deal starting with The Roses starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman. The film is based on the novel by Warren Adler and is written by Tony McNamara and executive produced by Jonathan R. Adler and Michael Adler. Directed by Jay Roach, the dark comedy is a reimagining of the 1989 classic The War of the Roses.

In addition to developing and producing a number of the AET IP into film and TV projects, AET is also producing a new live stage version of The War of the Roses, adapted by Emmy Award-winning writer Peter Tolan (“Murphy Brown,” “The Larry Sanders Show”) and directed by Jason Alexander (“Seinfeld”), scheduled to premiere in London’s West End later this year. Adler Entertainment Trust (AET) is the production company dedicated to adapting Warren Adler’s library into entertainment for all media including film, television, live stage and podcasts as well as publishing new books with new writers based on Warren Adler’s classic novels including Trans Mongolian Express, from acclaimed author David L. Robbins; Mission Churchill, from author Alex Abella; and Flanagan’s Strings written by Andrew Frothingham.

ABOUT ADLER ENTERTAINMENT TRUST (AET)

Jonathan R. Adler (CEO) and Michael Adler (V.P. Creative) are partners in AET – a production company dedicated to adapting Warren Adler’s vast library of 56 novels, numerous plays and 100 short stories into entertainment for all media including film, television, live stage and podcasts – domestic and international. AET and Searchlight Pictures recently announced a first-look two-year production deal starting with The Roses starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman. The film is based on the novel by Warren Adler and is written by Tony McNamara and executive produced by Jonathan R. Adler and Michael Adler. Directed by Jay Roach, the dark comedy is a reimagining of the 1989 classic The War of the Roses.

In addition to the film remake, AET is involved in producing a new live stage version of The War of the Roses (adapted by acclaimed writer Peter Tolan and directed by Jason Alexander) scheduled to premiere in London’s West End during the last quarter of 2024.

Some of the current projects in active development include: The Children of the Roses, Target Churchill/Mission Churchill, Little Black Dress, Torture Man, Residue (written and directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall), Funny Boys, Flanagan’s Pursuit (based on the two book series), Never too Late for Love (a short story collection that inspired the PBS American Playhouse trilogy called The Sunset Gang, that garnered Doris Roberts an Emmy nomination), Random Hearts (previously adapted into the 1999 feature starring Harrison Ford and Kristen Scott Thomas) now being developed as a TV series, and Trans Mongolian Express.

ABOUT HIDDEN PICTURES

Hidden Pictures is a film and television production company founded by Oscar and Emmy winning producer Todd Lieberman. Hidden Pictures will tell premium stories with a focus on discoveries of self,  of purpose and of time and place. Hidden Pictures believes in the importance of sharing narratives that leave the audience with an uplifting sense of optimism to carry back into their lives.