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Arts & Entertainment

Rob Zombie & Bret Easton Ellis Team Up For TV Show On Manson Family Murders

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It sounds like an odd pairing, but director Rob Zombie and writer Bret Easton Ellis have teamed up to develop a TV series for Fox based on the Manson Family murder spree in the summer of 1969.

Zombie told Variety that the two share a creative vision: "I have been obsessed with this insane story since I was a kid, so obviously I jumped at the chance to be involved in this incredible project. After speaking with Bret, I immediately realized that we shared the same vision for this epic madness."

The series would focus on the people involved in the murder spree in 1969. Variety writes:

The Ellis-Zombie collaboration aims to tell converging stories of people and events leading up to and after the murders, from shifting points of view. The project is envisioned as a multipart series, but it is one of many limited series projects in the works and is far away from receiving a greenlight.

This wouldn't be the first time the story of the Manson Family aired on TV. In 1976, CBS aired the made-for-TV movie "Helter Skelter," which was adapted from a book by prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi. It's not clear what kind of source material this new project would be relying on.The murders left seven people dead in Los Angeles, including Sharon Tate. But more than 40 years later, LAPD are still investigating some unsolved murders, suspecting that the Manson Family may have been involved. Manson was convicted of murder and conspiracy charges, and he was sentenced to death. But he happened to be sentenced just as California overturned the death penalty. Manson has come up for parole about a thousand times (okay, or twelve), and been denied each time.

Related:
Where are Manson's Children Now?

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