Crash movie to hit US TV screens

Crash won 3 Oscars including best picture in 2006

Crash, the movie which unexpectedly won best film at the Oscars two years ago, is being turned into a TV series.

Thirteen one-hour programmes will be made US cable channel Starz. The show is expected to premiere in August.

Crash focused on racial and ethnic tensions in Los Angeles and was made with a relatively small budget.

Paul Haggis, who co-wrote and directed the original, will be executive producer. Actor Don Cheadle will join the team and could reprise his role.

The series will pick up where the movie ended.

Cheadle, who will be a producer, said: "It will present an opportunity to delve into many subjects, not just race relations in LA."

No casting decisions have yet been confirmed. But Starz executive Stephan Shelanski said there was a "strong possibility" that Cheadle would also appear on screen.

The actor was partly responsible for attracting the original all-star cast which included Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon and Ryan Philippe. It is hoped some of the cast may return, even if only for the first episode.

Thandie Newton and Matt Dillon were two of the original stars

"We're just going to rely on the strength of the material and the relationship that Don Cheadle and Paul Haggis had to get the original cast involved," said Shelanski.

"We're talking to everybody. We would love to have as many of the cast members from this film as possible reprise their roles," he added.

Crash was made by Lionsgate Entertainment in 2005 with a $6.5m (£3.7m) budget. It beat Brokeback Mountain to win the best film Oscar, to the surprise of many critics.

It is only the second time a best film Oscar winner has been turned into a TV series. In the Heat of the Night, made in 1967, became a drama for CBS two decades later.