Selleck returns in sixth 'Jesse Stone' movie
In a sense, Jesse Stone is without his father as Tom Selleck's newest TV movie airs.
Robert B. Parker, the mystery novelist who created Massachusetts police chief Stone (as well as the private-eye character Spenser), died Jan. 18 at age 77. He was an actively interested consultant to star and executive producer Selleck on the CBS adaptations, the sixth of which - "Jesse Stone: No Remorse" - debuts Sunday, May 9.
"Magnum, P.I." Emmy winner Selleck recalls Parker as "a pal. He was really good friends with my production partner, Michael Brandman (who wrote the 'No Remorse' teleplay with Selleck). We ran every 'Jesse Stone' script by him, and we miss him. Robert could be a curmudgeon, but he was such a great partner.
"The 'Jesse Stone' movies have slowly diverged from the books, so we were operating in sort of parallel universes, and he was always very gracious about that," notes Selleck.
In "Jesse Stone: No Remorse," as the title character battles his yens for liquor and women while on suspension, he helps investigate Boston murders linked to an underworld boss (William Sadler, "Roswell").
Other actors returning from previous "Stone" chapters include Kathy Baker, William Devane, Saul Rubinek and Stephen McHattie.
"Until the plot of the current movie takes hold, the real mystery is Jesse himself," Selleck explains. "If a viewer says, 'I like this, but what's going on here?' that's a real good question. And it's the kind of question that freaks out networks. It isn't conventional storytelling. The individual plot is always resolved, but the thing that's never resolved is Jesse. We think that's good."
The "Jesse Stone" series will continue: Selleck recently completed filming the seventh movie, "Jesse Stone: Innocents Lost," and he has a deal with CBS for an eighth. He also may return to the network in a proposed show about a family of New York police officers.
"With every 'Jesse Stone,' I'm in every shot, and I also write and produce them," Selleck reflects. "I'm with each of these shows for about six months, from the time we start writing it to the time we deliver it. If I quit 'Magnum, P.I.' - which could have gone on for about another eight years - to have a family life, the kind of series arrangement I'd be more comfortable with now is maybe a lead role in an ensemble piece. One of quite a few leads."
That's why Selleck agreed to succeed James Caan in what turned out to be the final season of NBC's "Las Vegas." He confirms, "That was the big attraction of that ... plus, I had a mortgage! That was a little scary because they hadn't figured out the character yet, so I had to make a leap of faith. That being said, it was a very good gig, and I tried to do my best.
"What I've been looking for is a character-driven piece, as opposed to a procedural. That's where my appetites are. I think filmed entertainment is about people, and if you don't get involved with the characters you're watching, I don't think the stories work."
Character development clearly drives the "Jesse Stone" projects. Selleck may take even more license to go his own way with them, though he and Brandman have the screen rights to the rest of Parker's stories about the lawman.
Selleck reports, "We said (to Parker), 'If we're diverging into original stories, you don't want you to use your book titles for them, do you?' He said, 'No. That would be unfair to the audience.' So we can use the books, or we have the right to say, 'Based on the character created by Robert B. Parker.' And that's kind of where we're at now."
The opportunity to keep exploring Jesse Stone in occasional TV movies is a rare one, as Selleck (who also appears with Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher in the June theatrical release "Killers") well knows.
"I'm not sure it's been done since 'Columbo,'" he says. "The big difference is that if I had been doing this in the 'Columbo' era, I probably could have bought a country by now! It's frustrating for me, and it's not CBS' fault - they take the risk with us and give us the money, along with Sony Pictures Television - but I'd be much more comfortable making two to four of these a year.
"Each of the movies has to stand on its own," Selleck stresses, "but we do have a cumulative narrative that's a real bonus for the regular viewers. They're right up to speed when the next one comes, even if that's a year later."