'Bates Motel': Will it be a well-received prequel to the 'Psycho' legend?
Before the movie 鈥淧sycho鈥� was in theaters and after its release, director Alfred Hitchcock went to extreme lengths to preserve the secrecy of its twist ending, from telling stars Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh not to do interviews to forbidding latecomers from going into screenings of the movie and asking for signs to be put in theater lobbies requesting that moviegoers not spoil the plot for their friends.
But sorry, Hitch, the secret鈥檚 out 鈥� Norman Bates and his best friend (his mother) are now indelible parts of pop culture. Are there any secrets left to dig up about the antihero?
Director Tucker Gates says yes. He's helming the new TV series 鈥淏ates Motel,鈥� which will air on A&E starting March 18. The show will star 鈥�Up in the Air鈥� actress Vera Farmiga as Mrs. Bates (her first name is Norma Louise), while 鈥�Charlie and the Chocolate Factory鈥� actor Freddie Highmore will play the young version of Hitchcock鈥檚 memorably spooky character.
Ten episodes have been ordered for the first season. Other cast members signed on for the show include Nicola Peltz as Bradley Kenner, Olivia Cooke as Emma and Max Thieriot as Dylan Massett. (Your guess is as good as ours who they are.) 鈥淟ost鈥� actor Nestor Carbonell will appear as Sheriff Royce Romero and Mike Vogel of 鈥�The Help鈥� will play Zach Shelby.
The show 鈥減romises to give viewers an intimate portrayal of how Norman Bates鈥� psyche unravels through his teenage years,鈥� according to . 鈥淔ans will have access to the dark, twisted backstory and learn first hand just how deeply intricate his relationship with his mother, Norma, truly is and how she helped forge the most famous serial killer of them all.鈥�
Farmiga told that when she started acting as Norma, the actress 鈥渨ant[ed] to defend what she does,鈥� she said. 鈥淪he's a beautiful portrait of valiant maternity... at the same time she's an absolute train wreck.鈥�
鈥�Psycho鈥� came out in 1960 and was remade in a critically savaged adaptation by director Gus Van Sant in 1998 in which actor Vince Vaughn starred as Norman and Anne Heche played Marion Crane. Will 鈥淢otel鈥� be a better-received take on the Norman Bates legend?
