posted 06-27-2013 02:26 PM               

Space race TV pilot being penned by 'Star Trek' screenwriter

The story of how the space race between the United States and former Soviet Union was born out of the Cold War may be retold as a new television series now being developed by a newly-launched production company and a "Star Trek" screenwriter.

Primeridian Entertainment said Wednesday (June 26) that it has hired "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" screenwriter and director Nicholas Meyer to write a pilot episode and treatment for the TV series, which "will examine the tense competition between the U.S. and USSR superpowers at the height of the Cold War, starting with the scramble to capture the remains of the Nazi V-2 [rocket] program."

...to help Meyer shape that story, Primeridian has optioned the rights to "Red Moon Rising: Sputnik and the Hidden Rivalries That Ignited the Space Age," the 2007 book by Matthew Brzezinski, a former Moscow correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.

posted 06-27-2013 04:39 PM               

Their story revolves around the journalists who came to the Cape to cover the early launches (I've heard they are using Jay Barbree's "Live from Cape Canaveral" as a basis).

Primeridian Entertainment's concept seems to be the story of the early U.S. and Soviet space programs as told from the inside, and with a focus beyond just the United States. From Primeridian's release:

Looking well beyond NASA, the show will compare and contrast the successes, failures, and individuals on both sides, moving behind the scenes to the men who launched the first satellites and set the stage for the modern technological era into space.