‘The Band Played On’ Is Back on Track

The TV dramatization of Randy Shilts’ best-seller on the beginning of the AIDS crisis, “And the Band Played On,” which has been on- and off-track since its 1987 publication, has a new director and will start filming in October for HBO.

“It took a while to get going, but it definitely is going to happen this time,” said Bob Cooper, vice president of HBO Pictures. “Of course, I always felt it would happen.”

Director Roger Spottiswoode will replace Joel Schumacher, who withdrew from the film last September, shortly before production was to begin. Schumacher complained of problems with the script, and HBO said at the time that it would be undergoing “fine-tuning” while a new director was sought.

Spottiswoode directed the theatrical films “Stop or My Mom Will Shoot!” and “Shoot to Kill,” as well as other HBO projects.

Cooper said that the two-hour film would probably air in late summer or early fall of next year. Shooting will take place in Atlanta and San Francisco, with casting scheduled to begin shortly.

NBC had the rights to “And the Band Played On” for two years after it was published before passing on the project. It then moved to HBO, where Cooper acknowledged that adapting it for television has been difficult. “The book is sprawling, diffuse, documentary-like,” he said. “We needed to dramatize it into story form.”

The TV screenplay, written by Arnold Schulman, is told from the point of view of two characters--scientist Don Francis and AIDS activist Bill Kraus. “The book was told from the point of view of 50 characters,” Cooper said.

He added that Shilts, who has been hired as a consultant, “loves the script that we now have.” Shilts could not be reached for comment.

Aaron Spelling and E. Duke Vincent are executive producers.