”Northwest Passage,” from avant-garde film director David Lynch, and
”Elvis: Good Rockin` Tonight,” which chronicles Elvis Presley`s early years, are among the 16 dramatic pilots the ABC network has commissioned for consideration next season.
Priscilla Presley will serve as one of the executive producers of the
”Elvis” project, which concentrates on true incidents when Presley was 19. Borrowing from the film ”Reds,” the half-hour show also will reportedly use rock ”witnesses” who will discuss the King`s influence on them.
Lynch will write, direct and produce ”Northwest Passage,” his first TV project. The program will have a unique serial format that sheds light on the inner turmoil in what appears to be a serene small town.
Filmmaker John Badham (”WarGames”) will try his hand at a private-eye story. His ”Cuba & Claude” pilot involves two black investigators who work at a law firm.
A project that might cause the Washington Post to take notice is
”Capitol News,” a two-hour movie pilot cocreated by former Post editor Christian Williams.
The ABC pilot slate, intended to give the network strength in the critical 7 p.m. hour on Thursday and Saturday nights, which NBC dominates, also contains projects from Stephen J. Cannell, Aaron Spelling and veteran
”St. Elsewhere” director Mark Tinker.
Thirteen of the projects are for fall, with three others, including the Presley production, intended for later in the season.
