Paul Greengrass Goes Gangster With ‘Ness’

For years, Paramount Pictures has been trying to figure out their way into a movie about gangbuster Elliot Ness. Many moons again, they tried to get an adaptation of Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko‘s graphic novel “Torso” in front of cameras, first with David Fincher, and then with David Lowery, but neither incarnation made it. But a new filmmaker will tackle the source material.

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Paul Greengrass is in negotiations to helm “Ness,” based on the aforementioned graphic novel. Brian Helgeland, who penned “L.A. Confidential” and worked with the director on “Green Zone,” will pen the script about the man who faced off against Al Capone during the Prohibition, except it’ll center on the days when the law enforcement official moved to Cleveland and became embroiled in the hunt of a serial killer who was leaving torsos in the river with letters and notes taunting the police.

The lead role will be a big one to cast, and Ness has already been played arguably most memorably by Kevin Costner in Brian De Palma‘s “The Untouchables” (or, for older folks, by Robert Stack in the TV series of the same name). Casting suggestions? Let us know below. Production is aiming to begin this fall. [Deadline]