John Grisham's 'The Associate' to Star Zac Efron

It's unfortunate that so few people saw Ramin Bahrani's At Any Price last year because it was arguably Zac Efron's best dramatic performance yet. It's a low bar, admittedly, but clearly an effort is being made to prove he's more than just a pretty face. Now he'll give it another shot by starring in the latest John Grisham adaptation.

Efron will star in and produce The Associate, a project that has been percolating for a few years now. Shia LaBeouf was once attached back when Tony Scott was circling the directing gig, but that fell through and Adrian Lyne was briefly involved. Now a new writer is being sought before sending this out to studios and potential directors. Published in 2009, the story "follows a Yale Law School grad (Efron) who is blackmailed by a group of criminals. He's told he must take a job at the world’s largest law firm, where he'll be spying on their work in a dispute between two powerful defense contractors worth billions."

Starring in Grisham adaptations is basically a rite of passage for future stars. Look what it did for Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, and Matthew McConaughey. So we'll see if The Associate can do the same for Efron. [THR]

Read More

Daniel Espinosa to direct John Grisham thriller 'The Racketeer'

It used to be that John Grisham adaptations were a regular thing, especially his tried and true legal thrillers. They did pretty well at the box office for the most part, and top name talent always gravitated towards them. It's been nearly a decade since the last Grisham film, the unfortunate Christmas with the Kranks, and even longer since the last one set in a courtroom, but now Fox2000 and New Regency are set to make them prominent once again.

THR reports that Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) is in line to direct The Racketeer, an adaptation of Grisham's most recent novel . It follows former attorney Malcolm Bannister, now a federal prisoner, who hopes to use his knowledge of a judge's murder to get revenge on those who put him behind bars.

You can always count on a Grisham film to have a meaty central role, so expect some big names to get shortlisted before too long. A writer is still being sought, and while that's going on Espinosa will probably keep moving forward with Child 44, which he'll direct for Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace.

Read More

Sure Shots: Ridley Scott; Alexander Skarsgard; Chris Columbus

* Oh joy. More Biblical epics. I thought this was Hollywood? Godless heathen Hollywood? So why are there so many movies based on religious fairy tales in the works? The latest comes from Ridley Scott, who tells Esquire that he's working on a film based on Moses, the guy with the parting of the seas and the Ten Commandments and stuff. The film will be appropriately titled Moses, and is likely the same one being developed by 20th Century Fox, who probably want to keep working with Scott now that Prometheus is only a few days from release. Don't expect to see this happen any time soon, as Scott has about half a dozen flicks on the burner.

* Alexander Skarsgard and Benjamin Walker are the top two contenders to co-star in The Great Wall, the silly sounding action flick from Ed Zwick(The Last Samurai). Whoever snags the role will join your future Man of Steel, Henry Cavill, in the story about two British soldiers in the 15th century who uncover a mystery surrounding the The Great Wall of China's construction. Skarsgard has had it rough lately with two straight bombs in Straw Dogs and Battleship. Walker is mainly untested as a leading man, but will get a chance to be all presidential in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. [Deadline]

* Chris Columbus(Rent) has picked up the rights to John Grisham's baseball novel, Calico Joe, with plans to write and direct. The book follows a young Major League Baseball prospect who has his promising career ruined by a near fatal beanball. Based in part on the true story of Ray Chapman(the only player ever to die due to a MLB injury), it follows the lasting effects the beanball had on everyone involved in the incident, including the pitcher who threw it. Columbus will also produce the film through his 1492 Productions. [Deadline]

Read More

Mark Wahlberg in early talks to produce and star in John Grisham's 'The Partner'

It's been a long time since we've had one of John Grisham's many novels brought to the big screen. Well, a long time since we had a good one, anyway. The writer of so many great works of legal fiction like The Client and The Rainmaker, hasn't had a film adapted since 2004, and that unfortunately was Christmas with the Kranks. Seriously. But if Mark Wahlberg has his way, that could all be about to change.

Wahlberg is in early talks to produce and star in The Partner, based on Grisham's 1997 novel, and it's the author back doing what he does best which is exploring behind the courtroom shenanigans. The story follows Patrick Lanigan, a partner at a law firm in Biloxi, who fakes his own death then goes on the run with $90M stolen from the firm's offshore account. They don't take it too kindly.

A writer and director still needs to be found, as John Lee Hancock(The Blind Side) had been attached but is now busy with his Mary Poppins film, Saving Mr. Banks.

The reason why we don't see Grisham movies anymore is that people started to grow tired of movies about lawyers and shady deals and all that jazz. All of his films started to look the same, and the final straw was 2003's Runaway Jury, which was solid but not especially memorable. Wahlberg may be the guy to turn things around, though, as he's found remarkable success as a producer in the past. [Variety]

Read More