Well, here’s something we weren’t expecting. Ross Katz — a filmmaker who got good notices with his HBO flick "Taking Chance," is heading to TIFF with "Adult Beginners," and produced "In The Bedroom," "Lost In Translation" and "Marie Antoinette" — is now taking on a Nicholas Sparks property. Katz will direct an adaptation of the author’s "The Choice," which tells the story of "Travis Parker and Gabby Holland, who meet first as neighbors in a small coastal town and end up pursuing a relationship that neither could have foreseen." Obviously. Production will begin in October.
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo ("28 Weeks Later") is heading over to Fox to work on "The Last Witness." He’ll develop the project — "a ticking-clock thriller about the lone survivor of a bomb attack in Boston" — with the idea he’ll also direct, and will work off a script from Stefan Jaworski ("Those Who Kill"). [Variety]
John Moore, whose CV now includes the wretched "A Good Day To Die Hard," has been given the task of directing the Pierce Brosnan thriller "I.T." (lol, eyeroll). The movie will find the actor playing "a successful publisher whose relationship with a young I.T. consultant sours. He soon finds the former friend is using technology to threaten his family, business, and life." William Wisher Jr., who wrote the not-so-smart or tech savvy "Live Free Or Die Hard," is rewriting the script for this one. No word yet when this will boot up. [Deadline]
Clint Eastwood‘s longtime pal Robert Lorenz, who last helmed "Trouble With The Curve," has a new project coming to the plate. He’ll direct the action flick "Past Due," with the movie set up at Warner Bros. It has a Black List script by Thompson Evans, and the movie is described as "a female version of David Cronenberg’s ‘A History of Violence.’ " Okay, we’re intrigued. [Variety]
Once eyed by Nicolas Winding Refn, Sony‘s horror "The Bringing" will now be directed by Jeremy Lovering ("In Fear"). This one is inspired by a true story, "based on Elisa Lam, who was found dead in the water tanks on the roof of the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles. That’s the place that killers like Richard Ramirez called home at one time or another, and where suicides have occurred. Footage of Lam’s bizarre, inexplicable behavior in an elevator before her death became a massive Internet sensation, and this has been turned into the story of the man investigating her death, and the nightmare he stumbles into." [Deadline]
Ondi Timoner ("Dig!," "We Live In Public") has directed a Russell Brand documentary titled simply, "Brand." It will drop in 2015, but you can pre-order it now and watch the trailer below.
To me 'a female version of David Cronenbergâs A History of Violence' sounds like 'a rip-off of A History of Violence' with a woman as the lead instead of a man.