What Happened After THE UNTOUCHABLES
1. From Print To Screen - Will TORSO Ever See The Light Of Day?
Of course, there's a reason why I'm talking about the Torso Murders and Eliot Ness today, and it's because of Brian Bendis and Marc Andreyko's seminal 1998 comic.
Despite the prominence of the Torso Murders in the true crime genre, they've rarely ever been depicted in popular culture. In fact, not a single film has been made about the spate of killings despite their historical significance, although one filmmaker did come close in 2006.
Following production on Zodiac, it was reported that David Fincher would direct an adaptation of Torso for Miramax. The project fell through though, and the rights reverted back to Bendis. Movement on a Torso film had seemingly stalled from that point on, only for Deadline to report back in 2017 that Bourne alum Paul Greengrass would produce and direct a new adaptation of the comic, this time under the title 'Ness', with a script written by L.A. Confidential's Brian Helgeland.
Unfortunately, 'Ness' is now also dead in the water. Paramount Pictures dropped the rights for Torso back in 2018, leaving the door open for another studio to take a stab at the project almost a decade-and-a-half after the first attempt.
The difficulty in adapting Torso seems a little bizarre. In Bendis' own words (via THR): "It’s a cool true story that very little people know of... You think you know the story of Elliot Ness? You don’t. You know the story of serial killers? You don’t." The comic works so well because it taps into a well known figure in a story few are even aware exists. It could be the perfect companion to The Untouchables, given the necessary motivation, and yet every attempt at adapting the comic has been met with failure.
Torso is a superb tale, and the story behind the murders themselves deserves attention - as does Ness' twilight. Prohibition and Capone was only half the story. Those later years - dark and controversial as they were - need to be shared. The myth of Eliot Ness can't sustain itself forever.
Did you know what happened to Eliot Ness after The Untouchables? Would you watch a film based on Torso? Let us know in the comments below!