AceShowbiz -

Screenwriter Richard Regen has decided to accept the Weinstein Company's Harvey Weinstein's proposal to adapt the Jeff Abbott novel "Panic." The studio also has set Richard Shepard to direct.

"We have a very stylish 1970s-type paranoid action thriller on our hands," Shepard said while adding "It's exactly the type of studio movie I want to be doing aside from my own material: something that's smart and visually inventive."

The story of "Panic" revolves around a documaker who's summoned home by his mother, only to find she's been slain, dad is missing, and he's being shot at. As he unravels the mystery, he learns his whole life was a lie, his parents were agents, and even his girlfriend might be part of a conspiracy plot.