News – From Around The Web

 Hey guys. I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s “News From Around The Web” posts, because after a week of doing them, I realize there’s no way I can keep them up. They’re waaaay more time consuming than you’d think. But fear not, I’m not eliminating them altogether. I’m going back to the old format and posting one all-encompassing Friday version. This should help weed out a lot of the less important news and still give you guys your fix.

MORE BABEL FOR ARONOFSKY?
Screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga, who’s hit us with such non-conformist fare as Babel and one of my favorite foreign films, Amores Perros, has written an adaptation of John Valiant’s The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival. The story sounds a little like one of this year’s favorite Scriptshadow discoveries, The Grey, as it follows a tiger fed up by the recent human advancement on its territory, and so starts killing at will. A game warden is brought in to hunt down and kill the tiger. The project is making headlines as Darren Aronofsky is considering making it his next project. Brad Pitt may also be starring. More can be found at Slash-Film.

THE TRADE
I’ve been keeping my eye on this script ever since it appeared on last year’s Black List. The Trade is based on the real life story of two Yankees pitchers in the 70s who swapped their wives. Hey man, it was the 70s. Be free and share.  Like, totally.  The project is being sheparded by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.  One important note I find interesting that no one seems to be talking about, is that Damon and Affleck are die hard Red Sox fans. Which leads me to believe that their approach won’t be exactly…objective.   David Mandel, one of the writers on Seinfeld, wrote the first draft. Now Ben and his brother Casey are doing a draft. If all the stars align, the plan is for Matt Damon to direct, which I believe would make it his first directing job.

GIMME SOME FRIEDKIN LOVE
Whenever you’re stuck in Hollywood, go back to the well. Friedkin hasn’t had the easiest time getting scripts to the screen these days, and I’m still a little disappointed that he left Scriptshadow fave Sunflower in the dust. But he’s been using the publicity of his next film, Killer Joe, to mention the possibility of working with writer William Peter Blatty again, who of course wrote The Exorcist. Blatty’s new book is titled “Dimiter,” and unfortunately doesn’t have that logline-friendly of a premise. The title refers to the lead character’s name, who’s a notorious American agent in the 60s and 70s. The story follows his exploits as he jumps from country to country running into a wide array of strange characters. It’s said to be a supernatural thriller. I think it needs a supernatural hook. More at Slash Film.

JUNO FUNO
Whenever Diablo Cody does her dishes it’s news in the writing world so I’m happy to report that her next project, “Young Adult,” with Jason Reitman again directing, has found a home at Paramount. If you remember my review, I liked it quite a bit, and think that whoever plays the lead role (right now it’s Charlize Theron I guess), will have a shot at some Oscar buzz. It really is a unique role for a female lead. Will this news bring out the Cody haters? I’ll be checking the comments to find out.