With Christopher McQuarrie now busy directing the Tom Crusie thriller "One Shot," it looks like he's had to clear some developing projects off his desk. You might remember that last year he was hired on to adapt the U.K. miniseries "Unforgiven" into a feature film as a potential starring vehicle for Angelina Jolie. Well, McQuarrie has turned in a draft, Jolie was never formally signed, and the project has now landed in the lap of another strong screenwriter.
Scott Frank, the pen behind "Minority Report," "Out Of Sight," and "Get Shorty," as well as the writer/director of "The Lookout," has been tasked by GK Films to rewrite and direct the forthcoming film. The project is based on the BAFTA-nominated series starring Suranne Jones about a woman’s attempt to rejoin society after a 15-year prison stint for the murder of two policemen. The officers were in the process of evicting her family from the farmhouse in which they lived when the tragedy occurred. Now that she's out, she hopes to live quietly with her troubled sister, but two sons of one of the slain men are seeking vengeance. Certainly some powerful stuff.
With McQuarrie taking a first stab and now Frank coming in to put his touch on it, "Unforgiven" shows some tremendous promise. Still in early days, so no word on who will take the crucial lead role. This is just one of a handful of Frank projects making their way to the big screen with his scripts for "Houdini" (with Francis Lawrence attached), "Hell's Angels" (for Tony Scott) and "A Walk Among The Tombstones" (that has D.J. Caruso set to helm) all developing. [Deadline]
Scott Frank is the man. Out Of Sight and Get Shorty should be read by every aspiring screenwriter or employed screenwriter. I would love for Mr. Frank to work with Joesph Gordon-Levitt again- they were a good fit for The Lookout.