With his prison escape drama “The Next Three Days” set to hit theaters in a couple of weeks, writer/director Paul Haggis has seen his name linked to a couple of gestating projects. More recently, he’s been tapped to adapt and possibly direct the Spanish sensation “Celda 211” and earlier in the year he was linked with Russell Crowe to a big screen version of the 1980s TV series “The Equalizer.” However, one project that hasn’t been mentioned is one that he’s keeping to himself for now.
The LA Times reports that Haggis is quietly working on a new script titled “Third Person,” and that it’s “an ensemble drama about three couples around the globe.” But before you think Haggis is going to go all “Babel” on us, the emphasis will be on “romance instead of race.”
Haggis told the paper that the six character drama will focus on modern relationships set against various ’round the world locales including Rome and New York City. So, sort of like a slightly less grim version of “Hereafter” we suppose. The only detail offered so far is that one of the characters is a writer (hence the title).
The project hasn’t been taken to a studio yet as Haggis feels he can retain a bit more artistic control if he continues to develop the film outside the system (an approach he took for both “Crash” and “In The Valley Of Elah“). We’re intrigued, but wary. Perhaps our minds will be changed when we see what Haggis does with the potboiler-ish “The Next Three Days.” It opens on November 19th.
