EXCLUSIVE: 20th has landed the rights to a feature adaptation of the New York Times bestselling novel California Bear from Duane Swierczynski. Gary Lennon will write the feature alongiside Swierczynski with Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media producing, sources tell Deadline.

Swierczynski’s latest novel is a thriller that follows four unlikely vigilantes whose decision to take justice into their own hands pits them against the villain behind California’s coldest murder case.

California Bear is 20th’s first project with Proximity. Rashonda Joplin, 20th’s Director of Production, and Catherine Hughes, Creative Executive, will be shepherding the project. 20th’s Head of Literary Affairs, Clare Reeth was instrumental in bringing the book into the studio. Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian produce through their company, Proximity Media. Rebecca Cho will exec produce and oversee the project along with Hannah Levy for Proximity Media.

In March, Lennon extended his development deal with Lionsgate Television and was previously under an overall deal at Starz. Currently, he is the showrunner and executive producer of the Power spinoff series Power Book IV: Force continuing his work from Season 2 and is in production on the third and final installment of the Chicago-based crime drama. He was also executive producer of the mothership series for Starz which earned him two NAACP Image Awards. Additionally, he’s partnered with Lionsgate Television on P-Valley and Hightown for Starz and the hit Netflix series Orange Is the New Black. Lennon is represented by CAA, M88 and attorney Erik Hyman.

Swierczynski is the New York Times bestselling and two-time Edgar-nominated author of 15 novels including Expiration Date, Canary and the forthcoming California Bear, as well as the graphic novels Breakneck and Redhead. Along with James Patterson, he co-created the Audible Original The Guilty and co-wrote the private eye thriller Lion & Lamb. He’s also written more than 250 comic books including Deadpool, The Immortal Iron Fist, Punisher, Birds of Prey and Star Wars: Rogue One. His first short story collection, Lush & Other Tales of Boozy Mayhem, was recently published by Cimarron Street Books. Swierczynski is represented by Story Driven and McKuin, Frankel Whitehead.

Proximity Media’s film projects include two-time Academy Award-winning Judas and the Black Messiah, Space Jam: A New Legacy and Creed III which grossed over $275M theatrically. Upcoming, Proximity is currently in production on Ryan Coogler’s untitled event film for Warner Bros. starring Michael B. Jordan. It’s set for a March 2025 IMAX release. Additionally, the company is in post-production on Marvel’s Ironheart miniseries. Proximity also produced the documentary Homeroom with Hulu, co-produced Stephen Curry: Underrated with Apple Original Films, A24 and Unanimous Media, as well as Anthem, with Onyx Collective as part of the company’s overall deal with Disney Television. They are repped by WME and Jonathan Gardner, Esq.

Gardeners in Southern California made a chilling discovery outside a family’s home just a week after the same strange item was found in another yard. 

In a chilling discovery, gardeners stumbled upon a hidden camera while working at a home on the 200 block of Via El Encantador on April 16, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. 

The recording device was found pointing at the single family home, hidden under a landscaped area of the front yard. 

It was covered in camouflage tape and hidden amongst plants, the police said. 

Cops have urgently warned homeowners to survey their properties as hidden cameras linked to ‘burglary tourism’ are on the rise in crime-ravaged Southern California.

Gardeners working at a home on the 200 block of Via El Encantador on April 16, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office

Along with the camera, other items were found with the device in April. Police said they are still investigating the finding. 

‘The device consists of a battery pack, power cord and a camera with a memory card. These items were processed for evidence and booked for retention,’ Raquel Zick, public information officer for the Sheriff’s Office told KTLA5. 

‘The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office would like the public to be aware of this incident and encourage anyone who finds a similar device to immediately report it to law enforcement,’ Zick said.

An image of the devices showed a black hand-held camera with a memory card, a large back battery pack and a power cord wrapped in camouflage tape.  

A similar hidden camera was found in a bush outside a home on S. Primrose Avenue last Monday night, following an attempted burglary on the residence. 

A social media post showed a photo of the device – a camera concealed in a green shell surrounded by leaves.

A similar hidden camera was found in a bush outside a home on S. Primrose Avenue last Monday night, following an attempted burglary on the residence

A social media showed a photo of the device – a camera concealed in a green shell surrounded by leaves (pictured)

‘Last night, your APD responded to a call on the 1900 block of S. Primrose Ave. regarding a report of an attempted burglary,’ the Alhambra Police Department wrote in a statement last Wednesday that announced no arrests.  

‘The victim’s neighbor found a hidden camera in the bushes pointing toward their home. 

‘Their alarm company also notified them of an attempt to open the kitchen window earlier that day.

‘Unfortunately, camouflage cameras are a tactic being used in residential burglaries,’ it continued, sharing an evidence photo of the camera in question.    

‘These cameras are strategically placed in discrete areas, such as bushes, to allow thieves to gather information about homeowners’ daily routines to burglarize their homes.’

An alarm company notified the homeowners of an attempt to open the kitchen window earlier that day, a month after four Colombian nationals were cuffed for allegedly running a ‘burglary tourism’ ring that involved the use of camouflage cameras. 

That happened in Glendale a few miles away, as burglary tourism seen since the pandemic continues to dominate headlines not only in The Golden State, but elsewhere as well.

In the Glendale case, the four arrested – 28-year-old Bryan Martinez Vargas, Jose Antonio Velasquez, 28, Edison Arley Pinzon Fandino, 27, and Luis Carlos Moreno, 29 – were all Colombian, and all proponents of the new trend, cops claim. 

In this particular incident, the cameras were found before the thieves could gain entry.

The camera was found in the bushes and camouflaged with greenery to prevent it from being seen, but who put it there and how long it was stationed remains unknown.

The camera in that case was also found by an eagle-eyed neighbor, the homeowner told KTLA May 28.

‘Burglary tourism’ involves foreign nationals entering the United States using tourist visas to commit burglaries, Glendale PD Sgt. Vahe Abramyan reiterated last month.

‘They’ll commit these crimes, they’ll use different identities, things like that and eventually they’ll go back to their home country.

‘Some of these residential burglars have been recorded going through second-story homes,’ added Officer Jessica Cuchilla with the police force in Huntington Beach. 

“In these instances, the reason why they’re going in through there is because people don’t install alarm systems on their second story.

The thieves typically then ship the items they steal back to their home countries or sell the items before leaving, both cops said.

Cops have urged residents to survey their yards as the act of ‘burglary tourism’ has taken over crime-ravage Southern California. (pictured: Another hidden camera found uncovered outside a home in LA )

If you spot a suspicious vehicle, write down the license plate, officers also advised – adding to also keep your front porch and exteriors well-lit.

Trees and bushes should also be well-trimmed, they said – as to not become an easy hiding spot for thieves.

The installation of security cameras is also important, the cop said – as is monitoring them frequently.

And lastly, a broken window or open door should be a telltale sign to call police immediately, and to not even come close to entering.

‘Remember, it’s important to regularly inspect the exterior of your home for any unfamiliar objects or changes in the landscaping that could potentially hide a surveillance camera,’ cops said in their statement. 

‘Keep an eye out for suspicious people knocking on doors. They may be checking whether someone is home.’

Peace out!

Hundreds of modern-day hippies who form a commune known as the “Rainbow Family” are being kicked out of their campsites at a California national forest with the threat of fines and jail time.

The US Forest Service ordered about 500 of the permitless campers to leave Plumas National Forest within 48 hours on Wednesday or face a fine of up to $5,000 and/or prison time of up to six months, according to the vacate order.

The California eviction is the first time the Rainbow Family of Living Light — a loose-knit group of free-spirited people who gather to camp together in a different national forest each year during the first week of July — has been forced to end its annual camping tradition since its first gathering in 1972.

The free annual gatherings attract between 5,000 and 10,000 people each year.

The group calls itself the “largest non-organization of non-members in the world” and as such, organizers do not get the required permits as they claim they do not have leaders to sign them on behalf of the group, according to the US Forest Service.

The leaderless commune then sets up a welcome tent, camping and social areas, parking areas, health care sites and several outdoor kitchens. The members develop water sources and dig trench latrines to use as bathrooms.

The Rainbow Family also designates different areas of the campsite for group gatherings, partygoers, families with children, women and men, according to the park service.

This summer’s camping event was expected to bring roughly 10,000 visitors to the Plumas National Forest, near Quincy in northern California — which officials said would overwhelm the area and its natural environment.

Some 500 Rainbow Family members had already set up camp this week in an area near the Indian Creek Headwaters, about five miles north of Antelope Lake in the national forest.

The US Forest Service ordered the group to vacate “for the protection of natural, Tribal and cultural resources, concerns about fire danger, public health and sanitation, and upholding permitted special uses.”

The order went into effect Wednesday and is being evaluated daily to determine when it can be lifted.

“The Forest is concerned about the 500 plus individuals already dispersed camping in a concentrated area… There are existing and projected impacts on natural and cultural resources and other authorized uses,” Plumas National Forest Supervisor Chris Carlton said in a statement. “Our priority is maintaining public health and safety and the appropriate stewardship of public lands and natural resources.”

Locals were not pleased by the late announced arrival of the band of hippies and fought against their stay in town, according to local reports.

Four tribes in the region, the Mountain Maidu, Paiute, Pit River, and Washoe, each wrote to the Rainbow Family asking them to reconsider their camping location, according to SFist.

And Lassen County Supervisor Jason Ingram had been fighting the incoming since he learned of it, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

“As I’ve said from the beginning, my concerns with this gathering were always the illegality aspect, the
increased fire risk this would have created, the environmental impact, and the blatant disrespect shown to our local tribes,” Ingram said. “Events are fine, but not events that blatantly disregard the law and endanger our land and community fire safety.”

He celebrated the news of the commune’s first forced cancellation in over 50 years.

“I believe this is the first rainbow gathering event to be shut down, and you all had a hand in that,” Ingram said.