Paul Greengrass in talks to direct Somali pirate hostage drama, Maersk Alabama

Maybe it was the tepid response to last year's Green Zone that sparked it, but I feel like director Paul Greengrass(United 93) is throwing ideas against the wall to see what sticks. Over the last few months his name has been attached to a number of projects(Memphis, Jimi Hendrix biopic, Fantastic Voyage, Cleopatra), with a lot of them either stuck in limbo or dying a rapid fire death before they ever got off the ground. Now we can add one more to that list, and it's one that's right in his wheelhouse, as Vulture reports Greengrass is in talks to direct Maersk Alabama, based on the Somali pirate hostage crisis from 2009.


You might recall that Tom Hanks signed on for this film awhile back, but the project has been in the works almost since the day the crisis ended. It will be based on the book, A Captain's Duty, written by Captain Richard Phillips, who was famously kidnapped by the pirates before being freed by a team of Navy Seals(those guys are busy). The title of the film comes from the name of the merchant vessel Phillips was in charge of(and has been attacked multiple times since).

Plans are for shooting to begin pretty quickly, as in this fall after Hanks finishes up with The Wachowski's adaptation of Cloud Atlas.  As for Greengrass, this is hardly the only film he's circling right now. Vulture notes that he's a possibility to direct Rush, based on Formula One racer Niki Lauda. And they say there's some sort of mystery project that he's considering. Why it needs to be kept secret is beyond me, but I bet when we find out it'll be underwhelming. Unless it's another Bourne film?? That would be cool.