Everything old is new again at Comic-Con International (SDCC 2024) this year, it seems. This time, however, we’re not talking about reboots (although we will be reporting on the new Hellboy film tomorrow.) No, we’re talking about a real callback to a different era of entertainment – audio drama. True Noir, an upcoming project from producer Robert Meyer Burnett, takes us back to 1930’s Chicago with mystery, intrigue, and drama in classic noir style.
True Noir is based on The Nathan Heller Casebooks, a novel series by Road to Perdition author Max Alan Collins:
Once a bent Chicago PD officer on the take, Nathan Heller turned Private Eye after a tragic accident. The series begins in the early 1930s and extends through the 19 books to wind up in the late 1960s (so far). This first series in the fully immersive audio drama, THE ASSASSINATION OF ANTON CERMAK, begins by adapting the first Heller novel, TRUE DETECTIVE, into a ten part series. The story surrounds the actual, real life assassination of Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak against the backdrop of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, and swirling around many actual historical figures, including Al Capone, Eliot Ness, George Raft and even FDR himself!
Bringing True Noir to life
In a day and age of instant and visual gratification, True Noir immerses the listener in a bygone era by enlisting some incredible acting talent. Anthony LaPaglia (Without a Trace) leads the stellar, ensemble cast. Joining him are the likes of long-time Hollywood actor Bill Smitrovich (Miami Vice, Ted), the gregarious Louis Lombardi (The Sopranos, 24), and Don McManus (The Shawshank Redemption, Ocean’s Thirteen). So what drew them all to this project?
“The script is very good. It’s a great story… the feel of it, the sense of it, the tone it, and its so perfect for radio,” Smitrovich said. One of the things that will set True Noir apart, however, is that it’s not just recorded voice. According to Lombardi, though made for audio, the actors actually get to interact and play the scenes together. “They put the other actors from New York on [tv] screens and you’re shooting scenes like you would on a set… so it was really acting. It’s like new media, new entertainment.”
Reinventing a genre
On what it’s like to translate the noir genre back into audio format, McManus said simply “it’s about hiding intention.” There’s so much you can do with sound and voice that often gets lost in the visual spectacle of a movie or show. True Noir aims to bring those aspects of the genre back to the forefront.
The audio drama is currently in production. For more information, check it out HERE.
