For all of his Marvel movie success, the projects in between the comic book blockbusters haven’t been particularly memorable for Robert Downey Jr. Last year’s awards season bait "The Judge" whiffed fairly hard aside from a token Oscar nomination for Robert Duvall. "Due Date" was a retread of "The Hangover" films in its basic structure and the watered down antics of Zach Galifianakis, with 2011’s "Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows" marking the last true non-Marvel success for the actor. But like many A-listers around town he’s got handful of vehicles brewing and RDJ has added another.
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WB has snapped up the rights to David Howard‘s non-fiction book “Chasing Phil: The World’s Greatest Con Man, Two Undercover FBI Agents, and Their Amazing Around the World Adventure” along with the life rights of FBI agents Jim Wedick and Jack Brennan, to tell the story of swindler Phillip Kitzer Jr. who ran a variety of bogus and very lucrative schemes in the 1970s that netted him millions of dollars. Team Downey will develop the project as a potential movie for RDJ.
Certainly, whether he’s playing the villain or hero, this is the sort of colorful material that’s right up the actor’s alley. No word yet on who will pen the script or direct, but RDJ knows how to attract talent, so we’ll be keeping an eye on it. [Variety]