CBS to make
Hanssen miniseries
Updated 3:52 AM ET March
13, 2001
By Josef Adalian
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - CBS has spied an
opportunity to make a film about FBI agent Robert Hanssen, who was
arrested last month on charges of passing secrets to the Soviet Union.
The network has enlisted veteran scribes Norman Mailer and Lawrence
Schiller to executive produce a miniseries, which is not expected to air
until May 2002 at the earliest.
The duo -- who most recently collaborated on CBS' 2000 adaptation of
Schiller's bestselling novel about O.J. Simpson, "An American Tragedy"
-- have already started research.
"This is something which touches on a subject Mailer and I have been
interested in for years," Schiller said.
The pair worked together on 1996's "Oswald's Tale," which revolved
around Lee Harvey Oswald's experiences in the former Soviet Union.
Schiller covered the Oswald case from the time of John F. Kennedy's
assassination, and conducted one of the last interviews with Jack Ruby.
Both men also traveled to the former Soviet Union in the 1990s, forming
key relationships with ex-Communists in the intelligence community.
Hanssen was arrested by FBI agents Feb. 18 for allegedly selling
secrets to Moscow over the last 15 years of his 25-year FBI career for
$1.4 million in money and diamonds. He has been ordered held in jail
pending his trial, and plans to plead not guilty, his attorney said.
It's still too soon to tell in what direction the Hanssen miniseries
will go, but Schiller said he's intrigued by the fact that Hanssen
doesn't fit the typical spy profile.
"He's unlike most other people accused of spying, because of his
lifestyle," Schiller said, noting that Hanssen is married, has six
children and belonged to a Catholic group known for its ardent
anti-Communist views.
"Our interest is in the minds of these people," he said. "What jumped
off the page here was that there were so many questions that had so few
answers. These are wonderful questions that make for an incredible
story."
Schiller expects to travel to Russia within the next month to
interview his former KGB sources.
"Because of our relationships with people in the U.S. government and
the former Soviet Union, we've been promised incredible access we think
will provide a portrait of Hanssen that hasn't been seen elsewhere,"
Schiller said.
Schiller won an Emmy for his work on the 1986 miniseries "Peter the
Great." In addition to this season's Simpson miniseries, he produced the
CBS miniseries version of "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town," based on his
bestseller about the JonBenet Ramsey case.
Mailer's books include "The Naked and the Dead," "Tough Guys Don't
Dance" and the CIA-themed "Harlot's Ghost."
