Jaume Collet-Serra must not be reeling from Warner Bros. shutting down his live-action remake of “Akira” back in January, as it was revealed recently that he’s already on to something else, potentially lining up Russell Crowe for his Dracula reimagining, “Harker,” and now word comes that he’s going to be helping a smaller film get off the ground.
Perhaps utilizing some clout earned from making the Liam Neeson-starring thriller “Unknown” a respectable hit back in the dead winter of February 2011, Variety is reporting that Collet-Serra is producing an action thriller entitled “Inertia” with “Drive” actor Oscar Isaac. The film, which is being produced through Collet-Serra’s Ombra Films, will see “Apollo 18” director Gonzalo López-Gallego return to Spanish-language films after the failure of his found-footage horror flick. Collet-Serra cites López-Gallego’s “El rey de la montaña” as his inspiration to bring the helmer to his production house, along with his excitement over Isaac’s casting, as the film seems to be selling well to international territories according to Variety. We’d hate to join the critical pile upon “Apollo 18,” but it’s truly an abhorrent mess, clearly poked and prodded by the studio and creative masterminds behind it to capitalize on the recent wave of cheapie found-footage success stories. This writer hasn’t seen any of López-Gallego’s other work, so perhaps the involvement of Isaac is the only thing keeping us optimistic here, as even Collet-Serra’s resume doesn’t inspire much confidence.
“Inertia” is currently in pre-production, with a summer start date set for principal photography.
