As Guillermo del Toro continues to prep his next film “Crimson Peak,” which is set to shoot early next year, he’s also got another project percolating on the side—“Midnight Delivery.” The film, which del Toro is co-producing, will star Kevin Costner as a father who attempts to save his estranged daughter from a Colombian gang by trafficking cocaine on a midnight flight. The screenplay was written by “Luther” co-creator Neil Cross and is based on an original story by Guillermo del Toro. After a few months of searching for a director, it looks like del Toro has finally found his man.
British filmmaker Otto Bathurst has signed on to direct “Midnight Delivery,” which would be his feature film debut. Bathurst is mainly known for his television work over in the UK, with mini-series’ such as this year’s “Peaky Blinders” starring Cillian Murphy as well as 2008’s “Criminal Justice” which starred Ben Whishaw and the late, great Pete Postlethwaite. He will certainly have his work cut out for him, hopping across the pond to helm a major studio film. Luckily, he’ll have Guillermo del Toro to guide him. No word on when the project’s scheduled to start production.
Meanwhile, after Jay Baruchel tackled hockey with his first feature script (co-written by Evan Goldberg), “Goon,” he next has baseball squarely in his crosshairs. It’s been over two years since it was first announced that Baruchel would be co-penning the indie dramedy “Baseballissimo” with writing partner Jesse Chabot, and now the project has found its director in Jacob Tierney. Tierney’s previous directing credits include “The Trotsky” and “Good Neighbors,” both films which co-starred Baruchel.
“Baseballissimo” was adapted from the non-fiction novel by Dave Bidini, which centers on a Canadian minor league baseball player who aspires to someday play in the major leagues until his own attitude gets in the way. He then moves overseas with his wife and children to Nettuno, the baseball capital of Italy. A production date for the film hasn’t been set yet as the project’s currently being shopped around at the American Film Market. [THR/THR]
um isnt midnight special the jeff nichols thing