EXCLUSIVE: 27th Hour, the production company of The Orchard alum Paul Davidson, has acquired film and TV rights to “One of the Most Unusual Heists in America Seems to Be Unfolding at Taco Bell,” a viral SFGate article by Ariana Bindman.
Published last May, the piece tracks the unbelievable journey of artist Mark M. Smith, who was commissioned by Taco Bell to create bold, Basquiat-style paintings for its restaurants. Soon thereafter, Smith’s art began disappearing from the walls of aging franchises — only to resurface on the underground market for thousands of dollars. What followed was a surreal black-market boom, a flurry of illicit heists, and the accidental canonization of fast-food pop art.
“What starts as a quirky tale about art in a Taco Bell turns into something way bigger – a meditation on nostalgia, capitalism, fandom, and what happens when a chalupa meets a Basquiat,” said Davidson, who along with IDW Entertainment (Locke & Key, Surfside Girls), is developing film and TV adaptations of the article under 27th Hour. “It’s a heist story, sure – but also a deeply funny, weirdly poignant look at what we value and why.”
Davidson launched 27th Hour last year after running the entertainment division of publisher IDW, where he oversaw shows such as Netflix’s Locke & Key, Apple TV+’s Surfside Girls, and CBC’s Essex County. Prior to that, he ran indie film studio The Orchard, which released such films as Taika Waititi’s What We Do in the Shadows and Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Bart Layton’s American Animals, Patrick Brice’s The Overnight, Antonio Campos’ Christine, and Oscar-nominated documentaries Cartel Land from Matthew Heineman and Life, Animated from Roger Ross Williams.
27th Hour’s slate at the moment also includes a remake of the 1984 cult classic Electric Dreams with Exhibit A’s Seth Gordon & Julia Gunn and Black List screenwriter Brian T. Arnold writing; indie sports comedy Gleek, directed by Jim Hosking and produced alongside Tim Heidecker’s Abso Lutely Productions and Better Luck Tomorrow co-writer Fabian Marquez; an adaptation of bestselling author Suzy Krause’s I Think We’ve Been Here Before; a series spin-off of Robert A. Heinlein’s JOB: A Comedy of Justice with Startling, Inc.; and a film adaptation of the upcoming Julian Hanshaw-illustrated sci-fi graphic novel H2O from Top Shelf. There are also feature films in the works based on the Eisner-nominated graphic novels Penny Nichols (with Brea Grant attached to direct) and Tim Ginger (with Ross Partridge attached to direct), to be produced alongside IDW.
Storied Media Group repped SFGate, a Hearst Newspaper company, in the deal.
