Wisely, director Marc Forster kept his head down during the tumultuous post-production of “World War Z,” and thankfully film was thankfully a big hit so he came out of it mostly intact. And now he’s ready to work. He’s already lined up a gig at Amazon Studios helming their pilot “Hand Of God,” but lest you think he’s been resigned to TV jobs, guess again.
Forster will get behind the camera for the action thriller “Red Rising,” based on the novel by Pierce Brown. It’s big in scope (again, lest you think Forster won’t be given the keys to a big movie again…) Drawing comparisons to “The Hunger Games” and “Game Of Thrones,” this is a dystopian future-set story, in another world operating by a unique set of rules, with one man bucking against the system. Here’s the Amazon book synopsis:
Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.
But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.
Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity’s overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society’s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies . . . even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.
So yeah, kinda been there done that, but it’s an interesting story we suppose. This is being developed as Forster’s next film, though it will need a studio to come on board first.
Meanwhile, it seems everyone loves Seth Gordon. Last night he landed the plum seat in the director’s chair of Sony‘s forever brewing “Uncharted” movie, and now he’ll be directing “Queen Of Hearts.” Cashing in (sorta) on the fairy tale craze, and sure to gain more resonance as Disney brews “Through The Looking Glass,” the Black List script from Stephanie Shannon “is about how a passionate affair that leaves author Lewis Carroll brokenhearted prompts him to craft ‘Alice In Wonderland.’ ” The project is still in development so it could be a while yet before this goes in front of cameras. [Deadline/Deadline]