After the box office success of Joe Carnahan's "The Grey" starring Liam Neeson, it looks like distribution shingle Open Road Films has a bit of cash to splash now reportedly in final negotiations to acquire David Ayer's third directorial effort in cop-drama "End Of Watch."
The film teams Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena together as "two longtime LAPD partners confronting marriage, love, fatherhood and the harsh realities of the Los Angeles streets" with Anna Kendrick and Natalie Martinez playing their respective love interests. Frank Grillo, America Ferrera, Cody Horn and David Harbour also co-star. Perhaps the most interesting development through the film's production has been the news of POV-style camerawork (evidenced in this set photo from Collider) which will apparently be utilized which would see action "unfold entirely through footage from the handheld HD cameras of the police officers, gang members, surveillance cameras, and citizens caught in the line of fire."
Ayer is of course the screenwriter of films such as "Training Day," "S.W.A.T." and "The Fast And The Furious" but went on to move behind the camera on the crime-centric flicks "Harsh Times" starring Christian Bale and the 2008 Keanu Reeves-led "Street Kings." Not exactly a mouthwatering (or particularly diverse) resume, but the talented leading duo does pique our interest somewhat for the planned 2012 release.
