Tom Hooper, Ang Lee, David Fincher And Steven Spielberg Eye Intriguing Movies
EXCLUSIVE: Deadline scooped the news today that Safety Not Guaranteed helmer Colin Trevorrow landed the plum gig of Jurassic Park 4, a move which could catapult him to the director A-list. There is a lot of movement going on among directors that will reverberate depending on who takes what job.
First up, Steven Spielberg has ended his long flirtation with directing Gods And Kings, the epic-sized Warner Bros film about life of Moses based on the script by Michael Green and Stuart Hazeldine. That puts Warner Bros in a bind because of the rival Moses project, the Adam Cooper/Bill Collage-scripted Exodus, which is gathering steam at Fox, with Ridley Scott looking to mobilize that as soon as he completes The Counselor. But Warner Bros is now out to Ang Lee, who just won the Best Director Oscar for Life Of Pi. I’m told he’s intrigued with the project but hasn’t had a formal meeting on the script. Imagine what either director can do with that subject matter, and with the ratings on History Channel’s The Bible miniseries, the audience is certainly there. Spielberg hasn’t dropped the project for another; while he postponed his next film Robopocalypse, he hasn’t replaced it with anything as he continues to develop that robot pic. Spielberg also recently told French TV he’s developing a Napoleon miniseries for TV based on Stanley Kubrick’s screenplay and research. for
Meanwhile, David Fincher seems to be getting serious about Gone Girl, the Gillian Flynn runaway bestseller that Fox has been developing with The Social Network helmer since January. Pacific Standard’s Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea are producing, along with Leslie Dixon, and Flynn wrote the first draft of the screenplay. The plot: a woman disappears on the day of her fifth anniversary and all roads point to her husband as the killer. It looks like Witherspoon is now only going to produce the film, and Fincher’s participation is gaining currency because every age-appropriate actress in town is getting excited about the lead role.
Finally, I’m hearing there could be a potential match between Tom Hooper and the Peter Morgan-scripted film about icon Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury that is set at Sony Pictures and GK Films. Sacha Baron Cohen, who just worked with Hooper on Best Picture Oscar nominee Les Miserables, has long been attached to play Mercury, one of the most gifted rock frontmen to grace the stage. From what I’m hearing, there is no formal offer at the moment and there are several offers for Hooper, who before Les Miserables helmed the Best Picture-winning The King’s Speech. But keep an eye on this one, which Graham King and Tim Headington are producing with Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal, with Queen Films.
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