Warner Bros. are reportedly so impressed with Ben Affleck’s directorial work (and box office results) on the Boston-set crime-drama “The Town” that they’ve offered him the director’s chair of the 1940s cop-drama, “Tales From The Gangster Squad.”
The adaptation is based on a series of articles in the L.A. Times by Paul Lieberman and was picked up soon after it’s publication in 2008 by Warner Bros. who, in turn, hired former L.A. cop turned novelist Will Beall to adapt. The major focus of Lieberman’s article were a specialized L.A.P.D. unit set up in the ’40s to fight the growing influence of the East Coast Mafia, namely that from infamous gangster Mickey Cohen, a mogul who started as muscle for Al Capone in Chicago.
Whether or not Affleck will consider the offer seriously remains to be seen. Several projects are, however, already on his radar: he’s reportedly considering directing a Showtime pilot from the mind of “24” producer Howard Gordon about a sleeper cell and a ex-CIA operative and has eye on an unknown “two-hander” also at Warner Bros. which may star his BFF Matt Damon.
Could that be the New York Yankees wife-swapping pic, “The Trade,” which Affleck was attached to write, direct and star in along side Damon? The script by Dave Mandel (“Seinfeld,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm”) was highly spoken of and was based on Yankee players Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich who, in reality, did in fact swap wives and ended up falling for each other’s partner.
It might be a while yet anyway before Affleck goes behind the camera again. When recently asked about his next directorial effort, Affleck noted “I don’t know yet. Maybe [I’ll write again], we’ll see. I’m not sure. I just want to find something good. I waited a while before doing [“The Town”] and I’m glad because I really like this. And I think one of the dangers is if you pick something too soon and it can go sideways. You work on something for two years, you have to really love it as much on day 700 as day 1.”
All the while, “The Town” has now earned just under $52 million at the box office and has even been touted as a potential dark horse to sneak into the Oscar Best Picture race. [Vulture]