Robert Schwentke is a name we often forget about. The German director made his Hollywood debut with the surprisingly serviceable thriller “Flightplan,” moved on to the romantic drama “The Time Traveler’s Wife” and has the comic adaptation “Red” — which really looks a lot better than we ever thought it would — in the can, and set for an October release. We’re sort of surprised more tentpole-ish material hasn’t come his way but it looks like he’s eyeing something that could open that door a bit more.
Pajiba reports that Schwentke is considering sitting in the director’s chair of a new version of Robert Ludlum’s “The Osterman Weekend.” Cinephiles will note that it was already adapted once for the big screen in a 1983 film starring Dennis Hopper and Rutger Hauer and directed by none other than Sam Peckinpah (christ, imagine the testosterone coursing through that set). Presumably, this new take which has a completed script by Simon Kinberg (“Sherlock Holmes,” “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”) would tune up the story — about “a hardworking attorney and loving husband, John Tanner, who is convinced by a CIA agent that the friends who have invited him to a weekend in the country are engaged in a conspiracy called Omega, which threatens national security” — would be updated for modern times.
But this isn’t the only politically minded book adaptation on Schwentke’s plate. Pajiba tells us he’s also got “Conspiracy of Fools” by Kurt Eichenwald; “Charlie Johnson in Flames” by Michael Ignatieff; and “Entering Hades” by John Leake all percolating as potential gigs.
“The Osterman Weekend” is currently set up at Summit. As per usual, this is no guarantee and things may change, but it’s definitely interesting material for a director who is overdue for a big time arrival.
