Bret Easton Ellis and Rob Zombie join forces for Manson Murders TV drama

The writer and director have teamed up for a show based on the massacre

Musician and director Rob Zombie has teamed up with writer Bret Easton Ellis to work on a TV series based on the Manson Murders (Getty Images)

Bret Easton Ellis and director Rob Zombie have joined forces for a drama centred on the infamous Manson Murders of the Sixties.

Ellis, who wrote American Psycho, and acclaimed musician/director Zombie are developing the project for Fox.

Seven people were brutally killed in Los Angeles in the summer of 1969, including director Roman Polanski's eight-and-a-half months pregnant wife, actress Sharon Tate. Messages written in blood were found at the crime scene.

Charles Manson was the cult leader who ordered the savage Hollywood massacre, upon which the limited TV series shall be based.

Manson was convicted of first degree murder and conspiracy to murder despite not being found guilty of committing the horrific acts himself. The 79-year-old remains in prison having been denied parole a dozen times.

Ellis and Zombie's series will explore the events leading up to the murders and the after reaction, with the stories of those involved told from changing points of view.

"I have been obsessed with this insane story since I was a kid, so obviously I jumped at the chance to be involved in this incredible project," Zombie told Variety."After speaking with Bret, I immediately realised that we shared the same vision for this epic madness."

Ellis most recently worked on erotic thriller The Canyons, starring Lindsay Lohan, which was set in the district where the murders took place.