Spike Stays Mainstream
Filed under: Thrillers, Deals, Scripts, 20th Century Fox, Newsstand
According to Variety, Spike Lee has been hired by 20th Century Fox to rewrite the screenplay for Selling Time, a thriller that's been struggling to get off the ground since it was acquired five years ago. The movie was originally bought as a spec script (from then-Dreamworks TV president Dan McDermott, no less) in 2001, and was eventually written by Derick and Steve Martini. For a while, it was thought that Forest Whitaker would direct, but that fell through, as did an almost-deal with Will Smith to star.The story sounds like it has a lot of potential as a thriller -- it's about "a man who sells chunks of his life in an attempt to relive and change the worst day of his life" -- and the belief is that Lee's writing will revitalize the project. And, after the director's massive mainstream success with Inside Man, it's no surprise that Fox execs are crossing their fingers and toes in hopes that Lee will decided to stick around and direct his own script. (Because he's not yet settled on what he'll do next, it's not impossible to think that film might be Selling Time.)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-25-2006 @ 12:13AM
Grumpy O. Selznick said...
Sounds a little questionable. Fair or not, Spike has a reputation of taking writing credit on movies he directs, whether or not he contributes particularly to the script. This sounds like Hollywood spin, the Emperor's new clothes. Perhaps another run at Will now that Spike's on board?
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5-25-2006 @ 1:49AM
Peter said...
I'm interested in whatever Spike does, even if Selling Time sounds far more like an episode of "Tales from the Crypt" than a feature film...
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