Shelanski believes Starz is in a better position than most channels to interpret cinema because of the network's reputation. "We play movies 24 hours a day," he says. Starz plans to roll out three more series by 2010; at least one will be based on a major action film (which one, Shelanski won't yet say).

The plans come as the network is experiencing a period of growth; Liberty Media, which owns Starz and Encore, reported that Starz's revenues increased by 8 percent in the second quarter of 2008. Starz finished first in premium-channel day ratings and second in prime-time, behind HBO. Subscribers are up, too—Starz's base expanded by .5 percent in the first quarter, the biggest growth among the premiums. But in total subscribers, they still rank a distant third, with 16.8 million (HBO has 29 million, Encore 31 million). The network is streaming the first two Crash episodes on its website for free so that non-subscribers who get hooked can call up and order the channel. But whether Starz's movie-channel DNA can convert Crash into a subscriber bump remains to be seen.

"Crash is a good idea—it's a movie that people really talked about," says Deana Myers, an analyst at SNL Kagan, which tracks media trends. "But it's got to be really good for people to move to it. People go for quality programming—that's what took them to HBO, The Sopranos and Sex and the City."

Crash will echo its film inspiration's themes without mimicking its details, Shelanski says. Like the movie, the series is set in Los Angeles. Lionsgate, which distributed the film, is co-producing; many of the film's producers, including Haggis, Moresco, and Don Cheadle, are also producing the show. But none of the film's storylines or characters carry over. And most of the faces won't look familiar: "We made a conscious decision to cast unknown actors," Shelanski says. The exception to that was Dennis Hopper, who stars as one of the show's five central characters, an eccentric music producer who's trying to break back into the business after a hiatus. Hopper joining the series garnered a jolt of publicity for the project. And there's nothing like the pre-premiere buzz a show gets from having a little gold statue in its corner. As Starz C.O.O. Bill Myers puts it: "It's compelling for this day and age—and it already has that built-in marketing of being Academy Award-winning."