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Source:
https://www.tiktok.com/@rickriordan/vid ... 2996743430
Updates from the author who's a producer on the show.
Last week, during Disney Investor Day, we got a brief shout-out for the upcoming Disney+ show Percy Jackson and the Olympians. It is just the briefest of hints of things to come, but still really exciting! You can click the link to watch the entire presentation. The trailer uses John Rocco‘s wonderful cover art from the Percy books, but this is just a placeholder, as is the style of the title card. I won’t promise that the actual show introduction will look like this. We’re just not at that stage yet to have concept art from the show.
So where are we with the show? We submitted the pilot episode script to our studio executives. They read it and loved it, but they had some good notes that we are addressing now. This is pretty standard. Just as with writing an essay for your teacher or writing a book for your editor, nothing is ever perfect on the first, second, or third draft. You have to do multiple revisions to get it right! And it is absolutely critical that we take our time to get the pilot episode correct, because it sets the tone and pace for the entire series. Becky and I are working with our wonderful show-runner and team of producers, and we’re hoping to get the revised script to the top brass at the TV studio and Disney+ before everyone breaks for winter holidays. I am also working on revisions to the series ‘bible,’ a guiding document that outlines the characters, tone, settings, and structure for the first season, which will follow the action of The Lightning Thief.
What’s next? We wait to hear back from the top execs on the script. They may have another round of notes, because there is a lot riding on this and we all want to get it right! Then, once the pilot script is approved, we will most likely get officially ‘green-lighted’ (green lit? whatever.) at which point we can assemble a writers’ room, start the search for directors, begin casting, pre-production, etc., etc. There have been some recent corporate structural changes at Disney as they continue to consolidate the various studios they inherited from Fox, and turn more of their attention to streaming. This has meant some shuffling around with the people we’re working with, but it’s all good. Everyone is still excited and on-board and ready to get rolling with PJO.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2020/12/the-lat ... ena-house/
On the Hollywood front, there is not much new to report because the film industry takes a winter break from before Christmas until this week, so everything has been on hold. We are still working on the revisions to the pilot script, but we should be sending it to the top execs at Disney soon for them to weigh in. They may have their own notes for us to include. Then, once everyone is satisfied with the script, we will hopefully get the green light to begin development. As I’ve said before, I know this seems like it is taking forever, but we are laying the groundwork for a massive project, and it is absolutely critical that we get the first script correct. It will set the tone, style and pace for the entire show
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2021/01/the-first-2021-report/
We have a couple of important meetings this coming week with the top brass at the studio for the Percy Jackson TV show, so keep your fingers crossed. Everyone who has read the pilot script loves it, but there will be a few additional tweaks we need to make before we send it off to its next stop: the top execs at Disney+. That’s normal. In script writing, as in every other kind of writing, you can expect to do many, many drafts! All the input has been super positive and helpful, though. Everyone is committed to making this the best show we possibly can. I remain excited and guardedly optimistic that we are on the verge of getting a really first-rate project off the ground.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2021/01/the-lat ... n-24-2021/
For PJO TV, we’re just waiting to hear back from the top execs. The script has made it to the uppermost tier of decision-makers, which is great, but now we need to wait to hear what decision they make.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2021/02/a-quick ... ry-update/
We do not yet have an official “green light,” but things are moving along nicely in my estimation. The pilot script has now made it through the very highest levels of Disney execs and everybody likes it. We have met with the studio heads and streaming service execs, and we feel a lot of love and support from Disney, which I really appreciate! Our core production team (me, Becky, our show-runners and our fellow producers) have spent the last year learning to work together efficiently and effectively (through Zoom, of course). I’m delighted to say that our thinking is aligned in terms of what we want this show to be, and I remain confident we will make something great for you all to watch. Again . . . it just takes time. A lot of time. Imagine how complicated you think making a TV show would be. Multiply that times one hundred. It is even more complicated than that. And our process, from what I’ve been told, has been relatively easy! It’s fascinating though, and I’m learning a ton.
Right now, we are starting to plan next steps so we can give our partners at the studio and streaming service a good comprehensive picture of what this show will require. What’s the first season look like? (Hint: It will follow the plot of The Lightning Thief). What will the budget look like? (Hint: Good TV ain’t cheap. Quality-wise, this has to stand toe-to-toe with Disney+ hits like Wandavision and Mandalorian.) Who do we have in mind for directors? (Hint: I can’t give you any hints, but we are having conversations about this.) Casting? (No, we are still not there yet, but we have begun to talk about how the process will work when we do get there.) At a guess, I would say we have a couple more months of these conversations and planning meetings before we get our finalized game plan and (hopefully) get approval to move forward. I am optimistic it will happen. There is a lot of excitement and momentum, and it really helps that Disney understands just how wonderful and massive a fanbase Percy Jackson has, so thank you all for that! I will, as always, keep you posted, but if you see other information or “inside scoops” floating around social media, remember it is just clickbait. What I’ve told you above is as much as anyone knows, including me.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2021/03/where-w ... rdanverse/
For over ten years, I considered a new Percy Jackson adaptation pretty much impossible, certainly not with me being involved. Then in October 2019, as Fox was being absorbed by Disney, Becky and I saw an opportunity. We really started pushing, meeting with people in Hollywood, banging drums, waving our arms, etc., and with the help of our amazing film agent Ellen Goldsmith-Vein and her team, we started to see some very slow progress.
A year ago, we had just had our first exploratory meeting with the TV studio brass. Shortly after, we met our potential show runner. A few months later, we got a contract in place for production and writing services. Ever since, we have been working hard behind the scenes to get the pilot script ready and craft an outline for the whole first season (and beyond, if we get fortunate). We have now met with all the top folks at the studio and at Disney+ (and by the way, because of the Fox/Disney restructuring, everybody has changed jobs at least once, which made things even crazier). Just yesterday, we turned in the final revised script for the pilot, which reflects a few notes the execs had asked us to look at. We have also been working to put together a proposed budget. We have started talking about directors, concept artists, writers for the writers’ room, visual effects, and other critical jobs. We have begun talking about what the casting process will look like, though no, we are still not casting yet.
This is all in anticipation that the studio execs will review our plans and preparations and give us the thumbs up to move forward. I need to stress that until we get that green light, nothing is confirmed or certain. I am optimistic. I think this is going to go forward. But we’re not there yet, so please keep those good thoughts coming and keep your fingers crossed. I do hope we get to make this show, because after a year of working on the pilot, I can safely say I think you guys will love it.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2021/03/updates-for-march-27/
The casting process is now in its earliest stages, which means we have put out a casting call to the talent agencies for an actor to play Percy Jackson. I want to stress this is a preliminary search. We still have a long way to go before anything is official or confirmed, but this is definitely an indication that things are going in the right direction. We continue to have a lot of positive momentum behind the project and are excited to move forward!
We are looking for an actor who can “play 12.” That allows for a range in the actual age of the actor, but the goal is to stay true to the original story and have Percy’s character age from 12 to 16 over the course of the TV series, assuming of course we are lucky enough to make all five seasons. That will depend on viewership on Disney+, which is where all of you can help! Percy is the title character, obviously, and a lot of the other casting choices will be informed by whoever we get for Percy. I’ll let you know when we start thinking about those next steps. The “big three” roles, as you can imagine, will be the trio of Percy, Annabeth and Grover.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2021/04/prelimi ... y-jackson/
We continue to work behind the scenes on many fronts at once, and while things are moving forward nicely, there isn’t much else I can share publicly. Since our preliminary call for Percy Jackson casting last month, we have received thousands upon thousands of submissions, and it has been really amazing to see how many talented young actors there are in the world. As I said last month, this is preliminary, and we are nowhere close to making any kind of decision, but the process is definitely teaching us a lot about how different actors inhabit the role of Percy. I am confident we will find the right, amazing person, whoever that turns out to be!
We also had a great meeting with one of our writers who will be joining the writers’ room for the show. She is fabulous and will bring a ton of experience and wonderful ideas to the process. When I say “writers’ room,” I should also point out that we are talking about a tiny number of people. At least for the start, the showrunner and I will be working with roughly three other writers, all of whom have extensive experience in TV writing. It’s going to be a fascinating process. One big advantage we have: Since we are following the books, we’ll never have to sit around wondering what we should do in the next episode. We know exactly where the plot is going. It’s just a matter of how to translate that narrative in the most compelling, interesting, and fun way possible (and to make the story fresh and exciting even if you’ve read the books a hundred times).
For the past month, our showrunners have been working hard on budget scenarios with the studio. It’s a massive process with thousands of variables, but we have to make sure we are running a lean and mean operation, while not skimping on the funding the show needs to be truly exceptional and, well, authentically Percy Jackson. Our studio partners have been fantastic and collaborative. I think we’re getting closer, but as I have been saying since last May, this is a really complicated process and every step takes time and thoughtfulness to get it right! The other big piece we are working on right now is finding the right director (or directors). This is critical, and we are being very careful about exploring our options, having conversations, and trying to find the perfect fit for the show. The director is the next crucial hire for our core team. At that point, and once the budget is agreed upon, I am hopeful that we will be able to move ahead in earnest with show production. Just know that you guys are helping and playing an essential role. Every time Becky or Ashlee posts something on social media and you guys get it trending (like with the casting news last month), you’d better believe the execs at Disney are taking notice. It reminds them (and all of us) just how big a global desire there is to see this TV show come to life!
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2021/05/glimpses-of-hope/
While in LA, we got to meet our show runners for PJOTV for the first time in person, after working together for a year and a half via Zoom. That was definitely a highlight of the trip! We also had a nice lunch with the folks from the TV studio and a dinner with our agent and producing partners at Gotham Group. Everyone is excited and enthusiastic about the project.
So where are we? Well, if I haven’t been giving you updates as frequently as you’d like, that’s just because there is really nothing new I can announce yet. We continue to work behind the scenes, however, on many fronts at once, and everything is still moving forward. The big piece we are concentrating on now is finding the perfect director to join our team.
I am confident we will find the right person, but it is a complicated process that involves a lot of meetings, discussions, research, etc. The good news is, once we find that person, that seems to be the last major hurdle before we can get rolling on the project in earnest. Then, at last, we can start getting really serious about other aspects of the planning I know you guys care a lot about, such as the casting process. The pilot script is all set, however, and the season outline is in good shape. I cannot stress enough what a huge “win” that is, and it really did take the better part of fifteen months to get there.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2021/06/june-update/
We are still very much in the midst of our director hunt, which like any job search for an important position takes a lot of time and care. We will get there! And once we have that vital piece of the puzzle locked in, we should be ready to launch into high gear and get this show into production. When will that be? Absolutely no idea. Depends on who we find and when we find them.
As for casting, which I know you all are hugely interested in, we really can’t start that process in earnest, much less make any decisions, until the director is on board, since obviously they are an important voice in that process. As I told you when we announced the preliminary call for Percy auditions, that call was, well . . . preliminary. It was designed to help us see who was out there, who was interested, what the possibilities were, what the talent pool looked like. And it was very encouraging, because there is a lot of talent! However, no decisions can or will be made until we have our director on the team. No one has been rejected. No one has been accepted. No names have been discussed as front runners. That has to wait, for now, as do all other casting calls. Again, we’ll get there, but not yet!
We are gearing up to start our writers’ room for the series within the next week or so, however, and that is a major step forward. I may be able to share a bit more news about that process next time I update you.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2021/07/back-from-manhattan/
Well, folks, we are off to a roaring start in the PJOTV writers’ room. After our first two days, I am delighted to report that I am feeling more confident than ever about the quality of writing this show will have, and I am over the moon about the level of thoughtfulness and love for the PJO book series that everyone is bringing to the discussion. This is a group that knows the books, understands the importance of making longtime (and brand new) readers happy, but also making a show that feels fresh and surprising in the best ways, so even if you think you know the story backwards and forwards, you will find the show a compelling experience. And if you’ve never read the books, it will work for you, too!
Our team includes our showrunners, Jon Steinberg and Dan Shotz, probably best known for Black Sails and Jericho — both shows that are very different from PJO, obviously, but both wonderfully crafted adventures. Jon and Dan bring an enormous amount of experience and talent to our project, and have been incredible, patient partners over the last year+ as Becky and I navigated our way through the early stages of the production process. (Plus they both have young readers at home who are Percy fans, and are even more insistent than I am about making the show like the books, so hooray!)
Our writers are Daphne Olive, who has worked with Jon and Dan on several of their previous shows, including Black Sails; Monica Owusu-Breen, who has written for numerous TV shows including Lost, Fringe, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.; and Joe Tracz, well-known and beloved to Percy fans for his work on The Lightning Thief Musical, and also TV writer for A Series of Unfortunate Events, Dash & Lily, and Be More Chill. We are also fortunate to have in the mix assistants Xavier Stiles, Zoë Neary and Stewart Strandberg, all of whom have contributed phenomenal ideas already. Rounding out the room at each meeting are Becky and me!
Previously, Jon and I had co-written the script for the pilot episode, the series “bible,” and the outline of the first season (and a bit of sketching out the following seasons, assuming all goes well, of course). That work took the better part of a year, along with putting together a lot of other preliminary pieces for the show behind the scenes. Now, the goal of the writers’ room will be to create the scripts for the remaining episodes of season one. At present, we are talking through outlines for episodes two and three. I can’t stress enough how great it is to work with a team that gets the spirit of PJO, and also brings new perspectives and new writing talent to the story.
As always, my caveat: We are still waiting for an official series order, and that will require finding the right director. Once that hurdle is overcome, things should start to move much more rapidly on production, casting, etc., but keep your fingers crossed, because this series still not a 100% done deal until we get that green light. Nevertheless, the fact that the studio has approved the writers’ room to start is a very good sign and a massive step forward.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2021/07/vroom-v ... ters-room/
And Percy fans, never fear. We continued to work while we were on vacation. We met with the PJOTV writers’ room each day, as usual, and work continues to go very well on shaping each episode of the first season. We are making good progress on other fronts as well, though there is nothing I can announce yet. Hopeful signs, however!
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2021/08/a-week- ... ther-news/
We have a fabulous writers’ room. We have amazing show runners who know exactly what this show needs to be and how to make it. We have an excellent group of producers who have decades of experience in TV. We are close, I think, to locking in a great director, though that deal is not quite finalized. And of course, we have the author of the source material fully on board . . . oh, wait, that’s me! We have a clear plan, a solid approach, and we are ready to get going. However, we are still waiting for the green light, without which we do not have a budget to get going. The conditions for that green light are a moving target, and there are still many layers and levels of approval we have to get through.
Keep us in your thoughts this coming week, as we have an important meeting with top execs at Disney Studios (a tier of folks we’ve actually never talked to directly before). We will need to make our best case — one more time, with feeling! — for what this adaptation should be, why it is important, and why it is a win for all those involved.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2021/08/todays- ... herculean/
We had a very positive conversation yesterday (Friday, Aug. 20) with the top executives at the various branches of the Disney television organization: Disney Entertainment, Disney TV, 20th Century Studios and Disney+ . This was the first time all of us had been in the same room (well, Zoom room) so we could make sure we were all getting the same information and sharing the same goals. Having everyone together to align our visions for the show was extremely helpful, and I think a lot of confusion was resolved (speaking for my own confused self, anyway!). The good news is: the leadership is “all in,” as they put it, about making this show and doing it right. A lot of them have kids who have grown up with Percy Jackson, too, so they get it. They get that there are millions and millions of you out there who are waiting excitedly to see Percy Jackson come to life in a new way. We felt supported and heard, and I am more confident than ever that this show is moving forward as it needs to. You all have made a difference. You always do. Showing up on social media, sharing your excitement for the show: Disney sees you. They have heard you and they want to do right by you Percy fans. That, for me, is priority one, so I am happy!
Caveat, as usual: We still do not have an official green light. I did not expect that from this meeting. We do, however, have clear marching orders about what the execs need to see from us in order to grant that green light, and we are working to get them those materials. Again, this is all totally reasonable. This is a BIG show, and everybody needs to be sure we have our plans in excellent order before we hit the accelerator. In the meantime, we are all moving ahead with the assumption that this show will get made. The writers’ room has sketched out the first season episode by episode, scene by scene so we can start talking about creature work and production design while we work on getting the rest of the scripts for the season finished. (That job will take months still.) We are beginning to discuss locations for filming. We are close, I think, to having a deal with our pilot director. I would not be surprised if we can start talking about next steps in the casting process fairly soon, but I can’t give you anything certain on that front. We talked about a lot of super exciting possibilities in terms of how and where this show will be made, but nothing is set in stone yet, so I can’t say anything else right now.
Bottom line: This is good news. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, and you all will still have a long time to wait, but Percy is a step closer to the adaptation we all want. I had mentioned at one point, maybe a year ago, that the absolutely most optimistic guess I could give you about when this show might air would be 2022. That was, as I suspected, too optimistic. Right now, we are aiming for 2023 delivery. which I think is realistic, but this is my own personal estimate and should not be taken as a firm date. A lot of things have to happen before we can even start filming! The best I can tell you is that Becky and I will stay involved at every step of the process, and we would rather do this right than rush to do it quickly.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2021/08/news-from-the-front/
The writers’ room for PJOTV is working on outlines and scripts for the first half of the first season, which is what we need to get approved before our official “green light.” The hope is to have those done shortly after the New Year, but that is just my own estimation. It is not an official date. Assuming that happens (and I think it will) things should start to move into full production mode in the spring, including casting, and filming could begin as soon as next summer 2022. Again, this is simply my own best guess right now. You should not take that as the final word!
Even before we get that green light, however, we are forging ahead with the assumption that this show will get made. The writing for the first season, which follows the plot of The Lightning Thief, is sketched out from start to finish and the writers are doing a terrific job putting everything into script format. We meet for two hours almost every day (via Zoom) I am involved in every conversation, every draft. Even though we are basing everything on the novel, there is still a ton of work to do turning this into a TV show. The team we have in place is so good though, I’m feeling optimistic. We are also moving ahead on numerous fronts for pre-production, like locking in concept artists, VFX producers, line directors, and all those important people who work behind the scenes to make the show a reality.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2021/09/countdo ... -the-deep/
Possibly the coolest thing we did this week was visit Industrial Light and Magic’s “Volume” stage, where Star Wars TV shows like The Mandalorian are filmed. This trip was just to see how the technology works and what it can make possible for a show like Percy Jackson. To be clear, this is not where we will be filming. But the hope is that when we do film, we will be able to use a similar process and learn from ILM’s cutting-edge expertise.
If all goes well and the full green light happens as expected, we could begin filming in June, but as always, this is my own personal estimate and should not be taken as official word from Disney or 100% certain. Having said that, all signs are positive. The excitement is high at Disney+, at the 20th TV studio, and with the production team. We have just delivered the second episode script to the studio and are forging ahead with outlines for episodes 3 and 4, with the expectation that these will be done and approved by January, at which point, fingers crossed, we will get approval for full green-light. In the meantime, though, we are not waiting, and are proceeding forward on all fronts.
The casting department started gearing up again this week, though I don’t yet have any contact information on open casting to share with you yet. As soon as I do, I will. The general casting call information for the talent agencies has already been shared on social media, however (Becky informs me) and includes some basic information which I can confirm: the plan is to film in Vancouver (again, assuming all goes as planned, which I think it will) and our pilot director will be James Bobin, who is both a terrific person and an incredibly talented director who checks all the boxes we were hoping for in a partner. He recently directed the pilot for Mysterious Benedict Society, which I loved and found very true to the source material.
We are also working with visual effects artists to find the right “creature work” look for the show, and hiring more members of our core “behind-the-scenes” production team. It was great to see our colleagues in person again and get excited together about all the possibilities for this show. You know me: I am always cautious and doubtful about adaptations, but I am growing increasingly confident this project is going to move forward as planned, and it’s going to be awesome.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2021/10/back-fr ... -the-deep/
Not much I can report since last time, but everything is good and we are working furiously. As I said before, we are working to finish the first four scripts for PJOTV by the New Year, which we anticipate will be our final hurdle before an official green light. That hasn’t changed. We’re on track and everyone is happy with the progress, but it’s unlikely you will hear any other big news from me about PJOTV until the start of 2022. That doesn’t mean things aren’t cooking along nicely behind the scenes, though...
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2021/11/a-random-roundup/
Everything is moving along. We are working on the same schedule as I previously shared concerning script-writing and pre-production, with the hope of securing a full green light early in the New Year. (Fingers still and perpetually crossed, of course.) You should not expect any major announcements of any kind until the first part of 2022, which is NOT to guarantee there will be any major announcements at that time. I will let you know when there is something I can let you know, I promise! I can share this, however: We have begun the casting process for the characters Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood, which means we have put out a call to talent agencies for actors to play these parts.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2021/12/the-vie ... 0th-floor/
We are working on finishing the first four scripts of season one of PJOTV, which follows the narrative of The Lightning Thief. These are due to the studio early next month so we can (hopefully) get approved with a full green light, which will let us gear up for full production and start filming probably next summer. The writing is going very well, thanks to the work of our fabulous writers’ room and our tireless show-runner Jon Steinberg. Our partners at Disney Studios and Disney+ have been enthusiastic, supportive, and just basically wonderful to work with. It’s not easy work, no, but it is going about as well or better than I could possibly have expected. After the last two years of working behind the scenes to get this show off the ground, I am optimistic that 2022 will be the year it kicks into high gear and actually gets made. Casting for the main roles of Percy, Annabeth and Grover is underway, as I said in my last post. Nothing is decided. Everything is still very much in progress. There is a website to submit unsolicited tapes. If you choose to do that, please follow the directions and note the advisory on the webpage that you should not expect a personal response or confirmation due to the high volume of submissions. I understand some people have reported the mailbox being full. The casting department is checking on this, but I am told tapes are still being received. As I mentioned earlier, you shouldn’t expect any big news until the first part of 2022 at the earliest, but when I do have something solid I can share, I will!
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2021/12/2021-hi ... look-back/
Our writers’ room continues to meet every week, and I am always in every meeting. The team continues to be absolutely wonderful. We have delivered the first four scripts (which is what we needed for the green light) and are now working on some revisions based on the studio’s feedback. The executives had really smart comments, and it’s always good to have fresh sets of eyes on the scripts. We are also moving ahead to outline the remaining episodes of season one. A large part of this spring will be spent finishing up the season one scripts. I can tell you with 100% confidence that this season follows The Lightning Thief faithfully, although we’re adding a lot of interesting nuances, depth, Easter eggs and backstory that will keep the story fresh and fun even if you know the books inside and out. Everyone in the writers’ room is a fan of the books — thank the gods! — and the best part of our job is when we think of things that make the other writers squeal with excitement, because as book fans, it is something they want to see on screen. You have a lot of advocates in the room, demigods, including me.
As previously announced, we have launched into the audition process for the three main roles: Percy, Annabeth and Grover. The perfect trio has to be found first, as that will inform a lot of the other casting choices. It’s not just a matter of finding a great actor for each role. It’s a matter of finding a group of great actors that have good chemistry when they act together. That process is on-going, but we are making good progress. Don’t expect any announcements on that front for a while. I would guess it’ll be several more months, but that’s just my own estimate.
Other casting: We’ve only started the earliest brainstorming about this. I am not on social media anymore, but there was some chuckling yesterday in the writers’ room about posts they saw on various social media, claiming “official word” of this person or that person cast as this role or that role. Nope . . . not so much. Those conversations have barely started. No decisions have been made. If you’re wondering about characters like Leo or Jason or Hazel or whoever . . . Dude. That is six books away (meaning six years of production away) at the minimum, if we even get to adapt a Heroes of Olympus spin-off, which would be fantastic, but which we haven’t even discussed yet. You don’t even meet Nico until season three of PJO. Olympus and Disney willing, we will get to produce the entire five-book PJO series as five seasons and then have those types of discussions, but that depends on how many of you tune in to watch the show, right?
As I said in previous posts, our plan is to begin filming in Vancouver this summer. From now until then, lots is happening to get ready. A stage is being built. Production designers are hard at work imagining what Percy’s world will look like and bringing it to life. Visual effects teams (some of the best in the world) are designing the monsters you will meet in season one. Costume designers, composers, and all manner of important folk are being hired. It’s pretty ‘dam’ exciting, if I do say so myself. (Had a glorious conversation yesterday about what Chiron’s sweater vest should look like.) Becky and I will be in Vancouver for the entire process, so never fear! We will continue to advocate for the fans and make sure everything keeps humming along like a well-oiled bronze dragon.
Another thing I’ve said before: making a TV-show is a team sport. Yes, Becky and I are executive producers, and we have a great deal of input in the process, but it would be misleading to say I have “total creative control.” On a project this big, no one has “total creative control.” We work together as a team to figure out the best way forward. What you will see is not just my vision, but the vision of the team as a whole. I can, however, tell you that we feel great about the direction of the show and I think you will too. There will always be differences of opinion, of course. Will every viewer approve of every choice we make? Human nature would indicate that isn’t possible. But you are going to see Percy Jackson. You will be immersed in his world. You will recognize the stories you know and love.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2022/01/color-me-green/
On Saturday, we headed to the Disney Studios in Burbank for some in-person chemistry read auditions for Percy Jackson. This means we brought together different combinations of young actors we had identified as interesting candidates for the roles of Percy, Annabeth and Grover, and had them read through scenes together to see how they interacted. It was informative and exciting, and though we have come to no decisions yet, the process is moving along well. Seeing these actors taking on the roles in person made me appreciate once again just how talented and capable middle school kids can be when given a chance to shine. They were all amazing. Special shoutout to our casting director Denise Chamian and her team, who did an incredible job putting the auditions together, and our director James Bobin, who directed the kids through their scene work. I wish I had had a drama teacher like James when I was twelve!
The highlight of our trip was visiting the studios where the show will be filmed. It is on Underhill Avenue...not quite Underwood, but close. Hmm, I am thinking, why do they call it Mammoth Studios? Because the place is mammoth. The Percy Jackson production crew has just moved in to one part of this enormous complex, and construction has begun on the stages we will use.
After touring the stages, we explored the Percy production offices, where prep work is underway for the show. We met our costume designer Tish Monaghan, who was reading through the illustrated Lightning Thief to brainstorm for costume ideas (good move!) and Dan Hennah, our production designer, whose team is busy creating the visual world in which Percy will travel. His office walls are covered with beautiful artwork of places you would recognize from The Lightning Thief: Mount Olympus, the Underworld, Aunty Em’s, Sally Jackson’s apartment, and many more, all done in a way that is true to the story, but also fresh and exciting. Dan Hennah, by the way, is from New Zealand, and spent the past few decades working on the Lord of the Rings with Peter Jackson, so Dan knows a few things about bringing magical worlds to life.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2022/02/back-fr ... est-coast/
There really isn’t a ‘typical’ week for me. Every day brings a different schedule and new challenges, but I thought I could share a little bit about what my days have looked like recently. Monday: Around 7AM, I begin reviewing a new draft of script 104 (meaning episode four of season one) of the Percy TV show and making notes for Jon, our show-runner. Around 12:30, after a quick lunch, I join our Zoom session for the PJO writers’ room, where we discuss episode five. The writers’ room serves as a kind of brainstorming mosh pit, where we look at the section of the book we are adapting, deconstruct it to its basic elements, figure out how it will play on the screen, and then start putting the scenes back together again as a series of major ‘beats,’ or important moments. It reminds me of being in a literature discussion class. What is this character’s motivation? What’s the theme of the episode? We can spend days or even weeks talking about what a single episode should look like. Then one of the writers will go off to their secret Writer’s Lair and start working on an outline, usually a 5-10 page overview of the episode. This is then circulated among the writers, the producers and the studio partners. Once everybody has agreed it’s going in the right direction, the drafting of the actual script begins. Next on our schedule is creating the outline for 105.
Tuesday: 12:30: Back in the writers’ room for another discussion about episode 105. Also, two people in the room are expecting babies this summer! Hooray for PJOTV babies! In the afternoon, I review a new version of episode 102 from Jon, make some suggested tweaks, and send them back. We are constantly revising every episode, trying to capture that Percy tone and voice. I am sure we will be revising right up until the moment the lines are filmed, and maybe even after! Just like with a novel, the script-writing work is never really ‘done.’ It’s just ‘due.’ Before dinner, I reviewed another batch of audition tapes for Grover, sent from our casting director Denise. There is a handy online system called ‘CastIt’ where I can easily access the links and review the tapes as needed (with the proper access info, of course). Denise and her team screen through thousands and thousands of submissions for each role — I think we had something like ten thousand unsolicited tapes for Annabeth? Then she sends us what look like the most promising choices. No decisions have been made, as I said earlier, but we are getting closer. There is a lot of talent out there!
Wednesday: In the morning, I finish up my revisions of episode 102 and send them back to Jon. We also send the revised version of 104 to the studio for their approval. Next, we’ll be taking another pass on 103 to streamline the action and smooth out the dialogue, while continuing to work ahead on 105. Then send Dan Hennah some thoughts on set designs for Camp Half-Blood, Aunty Em’s, and other Top Ten Places to Visit in The Lightning Thief. In the afternoon, Becky and I have a Zoom meeting with the core PJO production team and our director James Bobin to begin the conversation about adult casting for the series. The most important job, of course, is to cast our core trio of Percy, Annabeth and Grover, but very soon we will begin looking at the other roles like Sally Jackson, Chiron, the gods, the older campers, the monsters, etc. There are many considerations here: Who is available? Who is right for the part? What will it cost? How can we schedule the filming so that the recurring characters can do all their sections at once? It’s quite an eye-opener, seeing firsthand how many variables you have to juggle to get a cast in place. And we are supposed to start filming June 1! Very grateful that we have a team of seasoned pros working on this process. Some exciting names have been batted around as ideas, but right now that’s all they are — just ideas.
Thursday: The latest draft of episode 102 is now in the hands of the studio. We won’t have the writers’ room today, but I suspect we’ll be back at it next week. In the meantime, I anticipate having more revised pages of 103 to look at over the weekend. We will be moving to outline on 105 soon, but it’s strange to think that the episode probably won’t actually be filmed until next fall. We will need June and July mostly just to get through James Bobin’s block, which covers episodes 101 and 102. On my agenda today: Follow-up on the casting conversations from yesterday and provide feedback on the most recent audition tapes we watched.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2022/03/a-typical-week/
Becky and I have spent the past week in Northwest Laistrygonia (otherwise known as Vancouver) setting up an apartment and office for our use this summer, when we will be here pretty much full time filming Percy Jackson and the Olympians, season one. Last Thursday, we reported for duty on our first day at the studios in Burnaby, Canada. Once at the studio, we had meetings with the props and costume departments to get a “show and tell” about what they’re working on. So many things to think about that would never have occurred to me: What kind of backpack does Percy use? What kind of t-shirts would he wear? What kind of sheath does Annabeth use for her dagger? Is Grover a cargo shorts kind of guy? And the all-important question: What pattern does Chiron prefer in his sweater vest?
We looked at various mock-ups for camp armor and weapons, different shades of orange for the camp t-shirts and how each would appear on camera, and even a ‘mood board’ of various types of blue candy. We also saw some early replicas for Riptide and got to play around with them. The blades were sharp, but somehow I managed not to hurt myself or anyone else. All this by way of saying: Everything is looking great, and I’m very happy with how the project is coming together. I think you will be, too. On Friday, we had a video conference with the higher-ups at Disney Studios to show concept art: the monsters, the world environments, etc., and they were very pleased. It’s pretty spectacular stuff. Of course, we will keep tweaking and making everything better, but this world is going to come to life in an amazing way.
I think we are very close to having our primary trio of Percy, Grover and Annabeth, but I can’t announce anything until we have all the necessary approvals, deals are closed, etc. At the same time, we have begun the process of looking for our other actors. You know the ones: Sally, Mr. D., Chiron, Luke, Clarisse, Gabe, Mrs. Dodds, etc. This is hardly a spoiler. It’s basically all the characters from the novel The Lightning Thief. This search is in its early stages. We have sent out “sides” (script sections to read) to the agencies for some candidates to consider, but I haven’t seen any casting tapes yet, nor is there any sort of definitive list of possibilities. Just ideas at this point, but very exciting ideas! Script work is also coming along nicely. We have scripts for the first four episodes pretty much done, and are hard at work on the remaining four of season one.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2022/04/greetin ... strygonia/
I am thrilled to introduce you to Percy Jackson. Walker Scobell is an incredibly talented young man who blew us away with his audition tapes for the role of Percy. Many of you recently discovered how great Walker is when you watched his movie The Adam Project, in which Walker lit up the screen as a younger version of Ryan Reynolds’ character. We were fortunate enough to audition Walker months before that movie came out, but the film only confirmed what we already knew about his talent. It was obvious to me and the rest of the team that Walker had the perfect mix of comedic timing, sweetness, rebelliousness, snark and heroism to embody our hero Percy Jackson. I got to deliver the news to Walker personally via Zoom back on Jan. 28 that he had been chosen for the part, and it was a magical moment that made me feel for the first time: “Okay, this is real. This is worth all the waiting and the hard work. This project is going to be amazing.”
Since January, we have been getting to know Walker and his wonderful family. He even arrived in California for a chemistry read in February with Annabeth’s magical New York Yankees cap, which he made his dad buy for him while they were in NYC. This kid knows his stuff. Since then, we’ve gotten to see Walker do numerous chemistry reads with candidates for our other two leads, Annabeth and Grover, and while I’m confident those two roles are getting very close to being finalized and announced, I felt like the time was right to let you meet our Percy!
We look forward to working with the Scobells in Vancouver full-time this summer and building on the dedicated, supportive, enthusiastic community that is rapidly forming around this project. The excitement is so thick you could cut it with a Celestial bronze sword. Walker is an avid skateboarder and skier, and is super excited to get to Vancouver and start working on swordplay, holding his breath underwater, and other stunts of derring-do. I’m excited he’s doing all that and I don’t have to, but I will definitely be there cheering him on every step of the way!
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2022/04/meet-percy-jackson/
As I said before, I think we’re very close to having everything wrapped up for our main trio, but there are numerous levels of approvals to get and deals to close before we can announce anything. Things are starting to move into high gear, though, since we begin filming in June, so we are probably talking weeks, not months, before we can share more news. As always, I need to warn you that this is ONLY my personal guess. What I can say is that the production team is united and excited about where the casting decisions are heading, and we are receiving excellent support from our studio and network partners.
Other questions I bet you are asking: Are we going to make Walker dye his hair black? Answer: We have had zero conversations about this. Personally, I think this is a non-issue. For me, finding the right actors has never been about hair color, eye color, skin color, or any other single physical trait, even if they were described a certain way in the books. As many of you know, I flubbed such details myself several times in the series. Thalia’s eyes changed from green to blue. Oops! Annabeth’s hair was curly and then it was straight. Nico was described as olive-skinned, then later as pale. Blackjack even changed from a mare to a stallion over the course of two books. Whelp, not sure what happened there, but too late now! So blond Percy? Hey, why not? IMO Walker is awesome just as he is. He is perfect for the role. The same will be true for our other characters when I can announce them.
You are asking: What about the other casting choices? Those are well underway. We are reviewing a flood of audition tapes as we speak for all parts. And yes, I am involved in every decision. I have seen dozens of Sally Jacksons at this point, and even more Mrs. Dodds . . . all wonderfully sinister. In fact, I may or may not have had nightmares about math teacher Furies last night…. Will there be open casting calls for (fill in the character you wish you could be)? As I’ve said before, I very much doubt it. There are so many great actors out there who are looking for work and who have already made the commitment to devote their lives to acting, have put in years of training, have struggled to get agents and get parts — we have no shortage of great, diverse options.
In addition to all the excitement about Walker last week, we were working hard in the writers room to outline the remainder of the first season scripts. I’m very pleased with how that’s going. This will be The Lightning Thief — the story you know and love, but with added depth and layers of nuance that many of you have been yearning to know about, judging from the fan letters I have received over the past fifteen years.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2022/04/what-a-week-2/
Friends, the main trio is now complete for the perilous but exciting quest known as Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The TV series!
In his young life, Aryan Simhadri has already proven himself a veteran actor. In his auditions for Grover Underwood, Aryan won our hearts. He had me laughing out loud with his delivery and timing. He has a mixture of sweetness, humor and internal toughness that is perfect for our favorite satyr. Grover has some big flying shoes to fill, but Aryan is exactly the right guy for the job. He and Walker already have a great dynamic together. And the visual magic we will be using to give Aryan his satyr’s goat legs is next-level stuff.
Out of all the talented actors we looked at for this role, Leah Sava Jeffries quickly became my number one choice for Annabeth. A native of Detroit, she is a brilliant actor who can break our hearts, make us laugh, and have us cheering for her all in the same scene. Leah is exactly the way I imagined Annabeth in the books: smart, strong and courageous, a true daughter of Athena who has zero patience for the foolishness of a certain Seaweed Brain. Watching her act with Walker and Aryan, I saw Annabeth Chase come to life. As soon as you see her on the screen, you will know what I mean. The Wise Girl has arrived!
This week, our three brave heroes assembled for the first time at the studios in Vancouver, and I got to welcome them to the set. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but also a lot of fun. I cannot wait to get started! Please help me welcome Walker, Aryan and Leah to the Percy Jackson universe.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2022/05/the-trio-is-complete/
This marked my first full week on-site as executive producer for the Percy Jackson and the Olympians TV show. The experience has already been incredible. Unless you work in the industry, you would not believe how many people it takes to create a television show. Several times a day, we will be sitting in a board room with twenty folks, with half a dozen more joining on Zoom, just to figure out how to film a five-minute sequence in one episode. What cameras do we use? What stunts are required? What equipment do we need? What is CGI and what will be live? Fortunately, I don’t have to know all those answers. We have an A+ team of experts doing the math and physics behind getting these scenes right. I am there for ‘big picture’ stuff: How should it feel? How was it done in the books? How are the characters reacting? That kind of stuff. It has been a special thrill watching our director James Bobin lead this amazing production. His vision and his sense of humor are perfect for Percy Jackson. I also got to tag along on a scouting visit this week, where we all climb aboard a shuttle bus and investigate sites around the Greater Vancouver area that might be used in the filming of the series. I can’t tell you exactly where we went, but if you want a hint, re-read the chapter “A God Buys us Cheeseburgers” in The Lightning Thief.
You also wouldn’t believe how quickly our young trio of heroes has coalesced into a team. They are doing high-flying stunts, learning their swordplay, fine-tuning their knowledge of Greek mythology and their characters — all while going to school on site at the studios! And of course, they have found the best snacks in the break room. If you want to know where the best snacks are, ask a middle-schooler. They have counseled me on trying the deluxe hot chocolate (not the regular stuff) and the dried seaweed packets, which are delicious. (A certain very funny kid may or may not have quipped: ‘Hey, my head is full of that!’) The feeling in the studio is one of joy and excitement, and the cast we have in place is nothing less than demigodly.
All that said, I am delighted to hear about the overwhelmingly positive response to the casting announcements. It is well-founded! Rest assured, these actors are 100% my choices, my decisions, and I could not be happier with how things are going. If you have any doubts, wait until you see them act in the show. You’ll quickly see why I chose them, and why I am so confident!
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2022/05/mothers ... e-studios/
Here in Vancouver, we have all hands on deck for the first day of filming on Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The excitement is so thick you could cut it with a celestial bronze ballpoint pen! Even more cause for celebration: let me introduce you to some of our incredible adult cast members you will meet in the first couple of episodes.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2022/06/pjotv-day-one/
We are now seven days into filming on Percy Jackson. I am definitely learning a lot about the process of making a TV show. An army of people is required to produce something this complicated, so I’m glad we have experienced pros coordinating all the moving pieces. A big thank you from the Riordans to all the hardworking people on Team Percy! In many ways, this show is more challenging than anything that has ever been tried before, for reasons I’ve mentioned previously: a young cast, massive special effects, and a huge variety of scenes that change every episode. And yet, we’re actually on schedule. That’s pretty amazing.
What’s an average day like for executive producers Rick and Becky Riordan? We commute out to the studio each morning (or to location, if we’re filming somewhere outside). We go to the set, where we have a ‘producers’ tent’ off to one side of the stage. There, our chairs await, along with a big monitor and headphones, so we can watch the shots as they happen. In the last seven days, we’ve cycled through three different sets, and we’ll be heading to a different one tomorrow. This is so the construction team can be prepping one set while we’re using another. Then we can switch stages and let the crew change up the first one, etc., to make the best use of our time.
James Bobin leads our actors through each scene multiple times, filming from a variety of angles, so we will have a lot of versions to choose from. It can easily take half a day (or longer) to film a scene that might only be a few minutes long in the show. The actors are great sports about this, doing the same lines over and over, sometimes in awkward stances or elaborate costumes. It is hard repetitive work that would drive me bonkers, but these actors are true professionals — especially our main trio of kids! Oh, I wish you could see them working together, bringing these scenes to life. But all in due time.
A lot of my day, then, is sitting in a dark tent with the other producers, watching the shots happen and giving feedback when needed — which honestly isn’t very often. The raw footage is amazing, even before any editing. While watching the filming, I’ll have my laptop open to work on script revisions, or check updates to the schedule, or look at casting tapes for upcoming roles later in the season. Occasionally, I’ll even be able to do some writing on my next book. (Remember back when I was just a novelist? Ah, simpler times…)
On most days, I’ll leave Becky to oversee the set for a few hours while I go next door to our office to join the writers’ room via Zoom. What we discuss in the room varies from day to day. Sometimes we’ll go through outlines for the later episodes of the season, which don’t film until the fall. Other times, we’ll back up and talk about changes we want to make on earlier episodes, based on feedback from the studio, or from what we saw in the table reads, or how things played when they were filmed. Scripts are changed all the time. James will ask the actors to try lines in different ways. Sometimes the best takes are the ones that were totally improvised. It’s fascinating. The most eye-popping scenes are the ones with stunts, where stunt doubles will be interchanged with the actual actors to do impossible feats of derring-do. I will let you imagine what those might be in episodes one and two, which we are filming now.
Other times, Becky and I will join in ‘previz’ meetings to look at story boards for future episodes. These are like really slick Powerpoint presentations which combine comic-book-style sketches with rough 3D animations to show each scene shot by shot, line by line, so the designers, camera operators, prop masters and stunt coordinators can all figure out how to bring those scenes to life. If there is a scene with monsters and cars, for instance, they may also have toy models on the conference table. It’s pretty fun to see grown adults playing with toys: “And then he can be like bam! And the car goes screech! And then Ahhhhh!”
Filming often goes into the evening, though Becky and I usually head back to our apartment in the late afternoon. I guess I am still programmed for teachers’ hours. It gets to be three o’clock and I start thinking, “Surely I can go home now?” Maybe my stamina will increase as the season progresses!
There is a lot of sitting around, which is perhaps not as glamorous as one might think when one hears the job title “Hollywood producer,” but some of the most interesting and important conversations happen unexpectedly while we’re just there on set. “Hey, what if we tried this?” / “What should this prop look like?” / “What should this character have in their lunch bag?”
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2022/06/week-two-on-set/
This seems like an appropriate day to introduce you to more of our incredible cast members for Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2022/06/more-casting-news-2/
Our fourth full week of filming is well underway in Vancouver, BC! We are receiving ‘dailies’ of the scenes recorded each day, and they look . . . dare I say, divine. This cast is electrifying. They own their characters and turn their lines into magic on screen. That’s even before editing, soundtracks or special effects.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2022/06/where-t ... c-happens/
I’m off for another exciting day of production. I think we may be meeting the Minotaur today.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2022/07/a-day-off-with-dante/
One highlight of the week was welcoming my editor Steph Lurie to Canada. She got to visit the set with a contingent of folks from Disney Publishing and merchandising, and spent two days meeting the cast, seeing the various sets and locations, and chatting with our producers, directors and designers.
Filming continues to go very well. Day to day, we don’t necessarily film in strict chronological order. If, for instance, there are scenes that happen on a city street in two different episodes, we may film them at the same time because it is more efficient that way. But in general, we have now covered most of the principal photography for ‘block one,’ which has been overseen by our fearless directorial leader James Bobin. While we continue filming the subsequent episodes under the talented and able direction of Anders Engström and Jet Wilkinson, James will now retreat into his Fortress of Solitude and begin creating a director’s cut for the work he has done so far. Everything already looks so good in the raw footage, I can’t imagine how great it will be when James gets done choosing his favorite shots and putting them all together. Then the producers (including me) will do our revisions. Then the studio will put in their input. So there is a long way to go. But the good news is we are on schedule. Given the massively ambitious scale of this show, that is no small accomplishment.
How much Percy content have we covered? Put it this way: If you were following along in the book, we have pretty much filmed through chapter nine in The Lightning Thief. That’s a big chunk of the story, but there is a massive amount of fun and games still to come! And yes, the filming has followed the book story very closely, almost as if the author were involved himself! Sure, there are small tweaks and changes here and there, which were mutually agreed upon, but the biggest difference is the ‘value added.’ You will get peeks at character backstory, foreshadowing Easter eggs of things to come, and nuances in Percy’s family history that I think you will love. The neat thing about revisiting this tale, almost twenty years after I first wrote it, is that I get to address some of the questions that fans have asked me over the years: “What does this mean?” “Why does this happen the way it does?” “What would happen if —?” It’s been really satisfying and fun.
And did I mention our cast? Monday, I spent the day with satyrs and dryads. I really can’t tell you any more than that, but I don’t think I have ever grinned so much or tried not to laugh so much in my life. They delivered a perfect scene, and Aryan Simhadri was amazing.
Source:
https://rickriordan.com/2022/08/back-on ... god-squad/
Q: Not only do you have a new book coming out, but your involvement in the Percy Jackson TV show for Disney+ must take up a lot of your time. What has been the most difficult aspect of developing the series so far?
Rick Riordan: The process has been enlightened and fascinating. I have learned a ton. For instance, Daughter of the Deep was the first book I’ve written where I intentionally structured it like a screenplay, using the three-act structure and a lot of the other tools I’ve been learning to employ from the adaptation process. I suppose the only frustration has been how long everything takes, but that’s hardly a surprise. We’ve been trying to bring this franchise a proper adaptation during a massive corporate restructuring at Disney, during a pandemic, at a time when the entire model for visual entertainment is being upended by the streaming wars. A lot of that chaos has been good for us. It made openings for us to pursue the adaptation in the first place. But it does mean a ton of work and years of constant effort to get things off the ground, often having the same conversations over and over again as the studio executives change. We have made real progress, though, and I’m confident things will start to get into high gear once we get the rest of the required season scripts are delivered, probably around the New Year.
Source:
https://www.laughingplace.com/w/article ... k-riordan/
Why not create an actual WDAS film so that Tiana isn't the only Black Disney protagonist rather than racebending a character in a remake where the original character will always be White regardless?
