NELL, a TV treatment based on 1994 Jodie Foster movie

TV series concept based on the 1994 Jodie Foster movie Nell
Concept c. 1999-2004, David Calloway. All rights reserved.

Thoughts on why Nell would make a fabulous, original, thought-provoking dramatic TV series.

Characters we care about:

• Nell


• The sherriff and his wife (who's mental illness did not magically disappear, but is a recurring theme and sub-plot)


• Psychologist Paula and her family: Jerry, the local doctor, their daughter Ruth. Ruth is growing up, styling herself after Nell, which is not an easy path for a pre-teen to travel.


• The "jerks" in the pool hall. It turns out that most of them, like Nell, cannot read. Her struggle to gain literacy becomes a model for one, who is a basically nice guy struggling to break out of his failure trap, to the dismay of his buddies. What will they do to stop him?

Story lines that will appeal to a variety of audiences:

• The tale could be picked up either within the five year lapse preceding the end of the movie, or after the end of the movie, when Nell's become a bit more mainstreamed into the local culture.


• Nell's friends try to shelter her from the "corrupting" influence of her wealth, and of those it attracts. It's possible that most of it went into making her mountain a wilderness trust, so she could continue to live on part of it, relatively undisturbed.

Other story lines:

• Explore the classic tale of the "innocent" in a tentative dance with civilization, but not in a drippy way. For example, she is befriended by a handsome but manipulative "environmentalist," who in fact works for a developer, intending to induce her to sell. Who's more convincing? And at what point does the audience find out that he's a fraud? Next week's episode, maybe?
  
• Introduce the inherent new-age, spiritually-oriented messages in a very natural human context. An underlying theme is the commonalities between a sincere new-age perspective, and the old-fashioned, home-spun values espoused in the stories. Because of this, sponsors will have to be carefully selected.
  
• Nell continues to be a healer of many of the broken souls who cross her path. A special bond grows with Native Americans in the area. A shaman colleague of Paula takes her under his wing as a not-quite apprentice. (Be careful she doesn't become a caricature of a savior, ala "Tommy-The Shameless Stage Extravaganza".)

Nell manages to maintain her efficient, fulfilling lifestyle, while dealing with a constant stream of new experiences, many both scary and attractive.

Sex must, by the nature of the situation and the times, be a presence. It should be handled gently, and with a light touch, but it cannot be taken lightly.

BTW, do you know who owns the movie copyright? All I could find thru Google is the production companies: 20th Century Fox (USA), Egg Pictures, and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (USA).