Los Angeles, CA – Paris, France – Carol Polakoff’s Viewfinder Pictures and Lane Shefter Bishop’s Vast Entertainment have partnered to develop the critically acclaimed autobiography The Devil’s Defender: My Odyssey Through American Criminal Justice from Ted Bundy to the Kandahar Massacre by John Henry Browne as an hour long drama for television. Viewfinder’s Polakoff and Vast’s Lane Shefter Bishop will executive produce. The series is being developed with an eye for a premium cable network or streaming service, and is planned for 10 to 13 episodes for the first season. The title was published by the Chicago Review Press earlier this year.
The book details the infamous defense attorney whose career is built on defending the defenseless and the undependable. From his fascinating start at 25 going under cover by as a convicted child molester to review and reform the prison system from the inside, to his life changing decision to represent his most infamous client: Ted Bundy and beyond. Since Bundy, John has gone on to defend Robert Bales, in a case that saw John put the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on trial. John’s larger than life stature and status has been cemented by his high profile and morally questionable clients, his turbulent personal life, the pro-bono cases he works for a dollar (including the “Barefoot Bandit” who stole planes and led authorities on a two and a half year manhunt), and the mysterious murder of the love of his life- a murder that closely mimics the work of his most famous client and haunts him to this day.
The deal for the rights was brokered by Frank Weimann of Folio Literary on behalf of the author and by Lane Shefter Bishop on behalf of Viewfinder Pictures and Vast Entertainment.
“John Henry Brown is a most fascinating and complicated hero- from playing rock and roll and opening for Hendrix, his story takes us from reforming the prison system to defending angels and devils against the death penalty and justice system. At the same time he is battling his own demons that rage day and night, and instead of taking him down, they empower him to take even greater risks, and battle the most confounding legal cases of our time. His humanity and his collision with the powers that be make this giant of a man both relatable and mind-bogglingly beguiling,” said Polakoff.
