The director who recently refused to helm 'Catching Fire' is in talks to direct a movie about escape artist Harry Houdini for Summit Entertainment.
- May 3, 2012
AceShowbiz - Hot on the heels of the news that director Gary Ross decided to exit "The Hunger Games" film franchise, it is now reported that the filmmaker is close to land a new movie project. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Ross is in talks to shepherd "Houdini (2015)", a film about famed escape artist Harry Houdini.
Though the negotiations are already underway, a source revealed that it has not been determined whether or not the Houdini movie will become Ross' next project. The director is famously known for being picky when it deals with choosing his directing vehicles.
As for the forthcoming film project, the story is based on William Kalush and Larry Sloman's 2006 book "The Secret Life of Houdini, The Making of America's First Superhero". The biography follows Houdini who acted as a spy for Britain. He was in cahoots with police organizations, and was asked to be an adviser to Czar Nicholas II's court in pre-revolutionary Russia.
Summit Entertainment acquired the rights to the book back in March 2009 and has tapped Noah Oppenheim to provide the screenplay for the film adaptation. The studio planned to create an action-thriller franchise featuring a character "who is part Indiana Jones and part Sherlock Holmes."
Ross recently caused frenzy following his decision not to direct "Catching Fire". He was later replaced by Francis Lawrence, who coincidentally is on board to direct his own "Houdini" movie for Columbia Pictures.
