Brad Pitt Brings ‘Paper’ To HBO, Says He’d Love To Reteam With David Fincher For ‘20,000 Leagues Under The Sea’

Though basic cable networks like FX and AMC, as well as streaming giant Netflix, are trying their hand at the type of programming that made HBO famous, the cable company isn’t yielding an inch. Variety is reporting that the venerated cable channel is developing the new series “Paper” with Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B.

Based on the New Yorker article "Pay Up" by Jake Halpern from October 2010 (read it here), “Paper” will follow “a former cocaine dealer and gangster named Jimmy who lives in Buffalo, NY and who’s sought to reform his life by getting into business as a professional debt collector, a gig that turns out to be just as potentially dangerous as his previous life of crime.” Non-fiction and short story writer Wells Tower will write and executive produce. No word on the production timeline, but our guess is that it’s still at least a way off. But with Pitt starring in "Killing The Softly" this weekend, which is basically set against the same time period this article was published and has the economy as a prominent backdrop, it seems the actor isn't done exploring that theme just yet.

Meanwhile, Pitt's pal David Fincher is also getting into the TV biz with the upcoming "House Of Cards," and Pitt was asked by MTV (via Collider) if he was open to the director's re-imagining of “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea” that Fincher wants him for. “I’d love to I mean, he’s my man. He’s got a great take on it. That’s just gonna be about schedule and time allocation, but he’s my man,” Pitt said. So could Pitt’s willingness to jump on board make Disney — who’s still reeling from the financial disappointment that was “John Carter” — less gun-shy about giving the green light to Fincher’s ambitious take? With their three-month hold on the project nearly over, we expect to hear an answer by early next year.