Working Title and Story for New Jack Ryan Adventure: We’re starting today’s round-up with a bit of a long one. First reported back in October 2009, we learned Star Trek‘s new Captain Kirk would be taking on the role that once belonged to Harrison Ford, Alec Baldwin and Ben Affleck… that of Jack Ryan from Tom Clancy’s series of novels. At that time the script penned by Hossein Amini (The Four Feathers) was being kept quiet. Since then Adam Cozad has come on to take a stab at the story and word has it the working title for the film is Moscow. The report also says it will not be an origin story and also will not be based on a Clancy novel, which makes sense since Amini’s script was an original story in the first place, though it appears Amini’s story may have been scrapped altogether.
The story scripted by Cozad will allegedly begin after Ryan’s (Pine) stint in the Marines. He’s working as a stock broker on Wall Street and will transfer to Moscow to continue his financial advising for a billionaire employer at which point Ryan is set up to take the fall for a terrorist plot designed to collapse the U.S. economy.
The report goes on to say the script closely resembles Cozad’s one-time script Dubai, which once had Eric Bana attached to play an American economist who moves to Dubai to work for a finance firm and uncovers a plot to cause a huge drop in the value of the U.S. dollar, thus creating mass starvation. Paramount Pictures acquired the rights to that story back in June 2007 with Lorenzo di Bonaventura producing. Di Bonaventura is also producing this new Jack Ryan feature. Script Shadow reviewed Cozad’s Dubai script in May of 2009 and called it “a cross between The Firm and Syriana” and Script Magazine profiled Cozad in 2007, which can be downloaded as a .PDF right here. [Pajiba]
Screen Virgins Sought for Raunchy R-Rated Flick at WB: I was 50/50 on whether I would include this story, but it’s actually quite interesting. Warner Bros., Todd Phillips (The Hangover) and Joel Silver are prepping a film with the working title Project X and on top of the reported $12 million budget they also plan on making sure “every actor cast in the film will be losing their screen virginity on the project.” Phillips will produce the pic while Nima Nourizadeh will be making his feature directing debut. The story is being kept under wraps, just as is the title and full scripts will not be sent out, only watermarked pages to prospective college-aged cast. A cheap film at a big studio, add a monster and you have Cloverfield. I guess Warner Bros. figured you make it a comedy, take out the monster and you cut the budget in half. Smart. [Deadline]
He-Man Now Lives at Columbia – Writers Hired: One film I have yet to delete from the database is the long gestating filmed adaptation of Masters of the Universe, based on the Mattel toy line, revolving around He-Man, a prince who transforms into a warrior and becomes the last hope for a magical land being ravaged by the evil Skeletor. Good thing too, it looks like, as the film still has life only no longer at Warner Bros. Production has moved to Columbia, which means the previous storyline from WB can’t be used so new writers must be found and they were found in Predators scripters Mike Finch and Alex Litvak as they try to put together a story that will work and one toy manufacturer Mattel will approve of considering they have final say. When last reported Kung Fu Panda helmer John Stevenson was set to direct, but with the move to Columbia that also is no longer the case. You can find three of the stories on the film I reported in 2009 right here, but it looks like things are starting all over again. [Heat Vision]
Jackson and Lutz Set for Fury: Sam Jackson and Kellan Lutz have signed on to star in the underground fighting thriller Fury directed by Jonah Loop. The film centers on drifter David Lord who finds himself forced into the savage world of a modern gladiatorial arena, where men fight to the death for the entertainment of the online masses and the profit of Radu, a sadistic capitalist that makes Vince McMahon look like Howie Mandel. David’s defiance to willingly execute his beaten opponents per the “rules” of the game, makes him the target of resident executioner and psychopath, Constantin, who makes it his personal mission to destroy David. Filming is set to begin May 5 in Baton Rouge. [Production Weekly]
Silverstone Negotiates Butter: Alicia Silverstone is in talks for the role of Brooke in the Weinstein’s comedy Butter to be directed by Jim Field Smith (She’s Out of My League). Silverstone joins Jennifer Garner, Kate Hudson, Rob Corddry, Ashley Greene and Ty Burrell in the film which follows a young orphan who, after being adopted by a Midwestern family, discovers she has an uncanny talent for butter-carving. She eventually finds herself up against the ambitious wife of the retired reigning champion in a town’s annual butter-sculpting contest. Word is screenwriter Jason Micallef developed the film as a metaphor for 2008’s Hilary versus Obama Iowa caucus showdown. Filming is scheduled to begin in Shreveport next week. [Production Weekly]
Tenney Joins Green Lantern: “The Closer” star Jon Tenney has joined Green Lantern as Hal Jordan’s father, test pilot Martin H. Jordan. Tenney joins Ryan Reynolds playing the title character of the film based on the DC Comics superhero and directed by Casino Royale helmer Martin Campbell. Tenney will shoot his part in June as filming on the project is currently underway in New Orleans for a June 17, 2011 release. In other Green Lantern news, Reynolds’s suit will apparently be mostly computer generated, Slash Film has the full story. [Super Hero Hype]
It’s Hirsch’s Time for The Darkest Hour: Emile Hirsch has signed on to star in The Darkest Hour for Chris Gorak (Right at Your Door and New Regency and Summit Entertainment. The thriller is said to be in the vein of 28 Days Later and revolves around a group of kids struggling to survive in Russia after an alien invasion. The film has been budgeted at $40 million and begins lensing in Moscow in June. Hirsch joins previously cast Olivia Thirlby (Juno) in the film in which she plays a trust fund girl trying to survive the attack and teams up with others to try to defeat the invaders. [Variety]
