NBC looks at Kurosawa through Prism

Akira Kurosawa’s 1950 film Rashomon

NBC in the US has ordered two scripted pilots including a show inspired by a 1950s Japanese film thriller directed by Akira Kurosawa.

Prism is from US-based We’re Not Brothers Productions, Universal Television, Carol Mendelsohn and Julie Weitz and is inspired by the film Rashomon.

The US show, written, directed and exec produced by Daniel Barnz, explores a murder trial from multiple angles. Barnz also exec produces with Mendelsohn and Weitz.

Meanwhile, civil rights legal drama Bluff City Law (working title) is from writer Dean Georgaris (The Brave), David Janollari (Midnight, Texas) and Michael Aguilar (Kidding).

Exec producers include Georgaris, Aguilar and Janollari, with the latter’s David Janollari Entertainment producing with Universal Television.