‘Hunger Games’ Helmer Gary Ross In Talks For Summit’s Houdini Spy Film
For a while there, it seemed all but certain thatThe Hunger GameshelmerGary Rosswould return for the sequel,Catching Fire. But that, of course, didn’t pan out, and with Francis Lawrence now firmly positioned in the director’s chair for that film, Ross is weighing a few different options for his next move.
Among other things, he’s just entered talks for Summit’sHoudini, an adaptation ofWilliam KalushandLarry Sloman’s biographyThe Secret Life of Houdini, The Making of America’s First Superhero. Ironically enough, this project could pit him against hisHunger Gamessuccessor Lawrence, who’s attached toColumbia’s unrelatedHoudiniproject. More after the jump.
The most recent draft of Summit’sHoudiniscript was written byNoah Oppenheim, a TV producer who has previously worked onHardball with Chris Matthewsand theTodayshow. Though Oppenheim has no produced screenwriting credits to his name, he’s been keeping busy as of late, withThe Maze Runnerand theWarGamesremake also on his plate. Whether or not Ross will actually sign on remains very up in the air at the moment, especially since, asHeat Visionnotes, Ross has a reputation for being very picky about his projects.
Like Snow White before him, Houdini’s having something of a Hollywood moment right now. In addition to Columbia and Summit’s competing projects, there’s also the J. Michael Straczynski-scripted thrillerVoices From the Dead, which revolves around the friendship between Houdini and Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle. And offscreen, Aaron Sorkin, Jack O’Brien, and Stephen Schwartz are working on a Broadway musical about the legendary escape artist, withHugh Jackmanin the lead role.
