Ridley Scott To Direct Cormac McCarthy’s ‘The Counselor’

Well, that didn't take long. Nearly two weeks after Cormac McCarthy sold his first spec script titled "The Counselor," Deadline reports it now has a director in Ridley Scott. Hooray? 

Now, before everyone loses their shit, let's just consider — Ridley Scott signs on for lots of stuff. In 2011 alone he lined up: an African coup drama with Gerard Butler; a Gertrude Bell biopic with Angelina Jolie eyeing the lead role; the Reagan/Gorbachev Cold War summit drama "Reykjavik" and that "Blade Runner" sequel. And let's not forget he's still attached to "Monopoly" which hired new writers last fall and his long developing "Gucci" project now has Natalie Portman interested. That's not counting the plethora of stuff he's producing or any of the projects he hooked up with in 2010. If anything, we hope his involvement in "The Counselor" doesn't mean this movie just sits on a pile for years at Scott Free (because he'll also be producing) waiting to get made. Deadline reports that they think a studio will come running, but in these belt-tightening, franchise heavy times, we wonder about that.

At any rate, its material is promising. Said to be in the same vein as "No Country For Old Men," the story follows a lawyer who naively gets involved in the drug trade and finds himself caught up in a desperate situation. Though it's described as very "masculine" and featuring McCarthy's distinct "sexual obsesssions," two female leads apparently play a vital role.

Of course, Lord only knows if/when Scott will get around to it. However, the one thing in its favor is that unlike many of his projects that are brewing, this would likely be much lower budget and easier to knock out fast than a period movie or special effects heavy piece. And it would be great to see Scott go back to a smaller, "Matchstick Men" sized film. So, is this just the start of many more things Scott will sign on to in 2012? Or is there more to it than that? We'll soon see.