What’s the secret to being a terrible director who keeps working? If you’re Simon West, the answer is just to keep working.
The experienced action hack, who gets by on “Con Air” goodwill despite Jerry Bruckheimer‘s overwhelming stamp on that film, is headed to New York City for “Medallion.” The script, from “Safe House” screenwriter David Guggenheim, is one of those race-against time concepts where a father has to find his kidnapped daughter, crouched alone somewhere in the trunk of a New York City taxi cab. Clive Owen and Nicolas Cage have been suggested as potential leads for the film, but it doesn’t seem like there’s much suspense there, since white guys have no trouble getting a cab in New York City.
The project is being shepherded to the screen by producer McG. West, who has “The Mechanic” lined up for release in early ’11, is wrapping production on the Dwayne Johnson joint “Protection,” which is about an ex-wrestler who tries to teach prophylactic use to teenagers at an inner city high school. Okay, it’s actually more of a straightforward action picture, but our version rocks so much more, and it has a haggard Nick Nolte as the principal!