Aaron Guzikowski’s buzzed about script “The Prisoners” has been acquired by Alcon Entertainment and is being fast tracked for an autumn 2010 release through Warner Brothers. It is not known though whether the project’s former potential team of Bryan Singer at the helm and Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale as the leads are still on board as the Screendaily article notes that “discussions with potential directors and cast will start this week,” which suggests like they’re possibly staring from scratch.
Variety doesn’t do much to dispel this notion referring to Wahlberg’s attachment to the project in the past tense. Both former leads are currently filming David O. Russell’s “The Fighter” in Boston which they may have chosen ahead of ‘Prisoners.’ [ScreenDaily/Variety] The best part of this story, as Movieline points out, is that “The Prisoners,” is a spec thriller script written by Aaron Guzikowski, who until last week, was an assistant at an ad agency. Make them dreams happen, kids.
Wahlberg, meanwhile, is set to begin shooting on his buddy cop comedy Adam McKay’s “The Other Guys” with Will Ferrell in early September. This only further provides no-go evidence with his Prisoners’ participation. Formerly titled “The B-Team,” the film will center on a pair of mismatched cops. [ProdWeekly]
Warren Ellis (the writer, not the musician and Nick Cave collaborator) has written a film treatment for Hollywood Gang (“300,” “War Of Gods”) about King Arthur titled “Excalibur.” In his blog post, the writer has linked to the 1981 film of the same name though he revealed noted that his film is not a remake/reboot/re-imagining as it “differs from the prior 751 King Arthur movies in many ways, but perhaps most obviously in that it is very specifically about the gathering of the Knights.” [FirstShowing/AICN]
“How I Met Your Mother” star Josh Radnor has wrapped shooting on his directorial debut “HappyThankYouMorePlease” which will now be edited by Radnor – who also scribed – during filming for his CBS sitcom. The comedy stars Radnor alongside Malin Akerman, Kate Mara, Richard Jenkins, Zoe Kazan, Pablo Schreiber and Tony Hale and follows the lives and loves of six New Yorkers not quite ready to embrace adulthood. Someone had enough of living under Jason Segel and Neil Patrick Harris’ shadow? [Variety]