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David O. Russell Drops Out of Controversial Uncharted Movie
David O. Russell has exited "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune" over creative differences with Sony, leaving the bigscreen adaptation of the juggernaut videogame without a helmer -- but not without the studio's will to get it made.
After signing on to write and direct "Uncharted" late last year, Russell seemed excited about the Columbia Pictures project, speaking frequently and enthusiastically about it as he made the rounds to promote "The Fighter" during awards season. Insiders tell Variety the split was amicable and due to creative differences on the project, which Sony will continue to aggressively develop.
"Uncharted" is an adaptation of the popular 2007 PlayStation 3 videogame that centered on treasure hunter Nathan Drake.
Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer penned the first draft of the script, which Sony is still very high on, though the studio has already begun its search for a new scribe.
While there has never been talent formally attached to "Uncharted," Russell had been looking to re-team with "The Fighter" star Mark Wahlberg on the project, which was also rumored to co-star Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. However, with a new writer and director coming on board, casting will likely start from scratch.
"Uncharted" will be produced by Avi Arad, Ari Arad, Charles Roven and Alex Gartner.
The original game sold one million copies within its first 10 weeks of release, and a 2009 sequel sold more than 3.8 million copies worldwide.
Russell recently committed to re-team with Wahlberg on "The Silver Linings Playbook." Helmer had also been considering working with Wahlberg on the drug drama "Cocaine Cowboys," a feature adaptation of the acclaimed documentary.
Russell is also developing a "Dirty Harry"-esque franchise with Ice Cube, as well as two projects with Vince Vaughn -- the Universal action pic "2 Guns" and the father-daughter drama "Old St. Louis." He's also shown interest in a Russ Meyer biopic that's set up at Fox Searchlight, and had been talking to producer Jane Rosenthal about a feature concerning former Providence mayor Buddy Cianci.
Source: Variety
After signing on to write and direct "Uncharted" late last year, Russell seemed excited about the Columbia Pictures project, speaking frequently and enthusiastically about it as he made the rounds to promote "The Fighter" during awards season. Insiders tell Variety the split was amicable and due to creative differences on the project, which Sony will continue to aggressively develop.
"Uncharted" is an adaptation of the popular 2007 PlayStation 3 videogame that centered on treasure hunter Nathan Drake.
Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer penned the first draft of the script, which Sony is still very high on, though the studio has already begun its search for a new scribe.
While there has never been talent formally attached to "Uncharted," Russell had been looking to re-team with "The Fighter" star Mark Wahlberg on the project, which was also rumored to co-star Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. However, with a new writer and director coming on board, casting will likely start from scratch.
"Uncharted" will be produced by Avi Arad, Ari Arad, Charles Roven and Alex Gartner.
The original game sold one million copies within its first 10 weeks of release, and a 2009 sequel sold more than 3.8 million copies worldwide.
Russell recently committed to re-team with Wahlberg on "The Silver Linings Playbook." Helmer had also been considering working with Wahlberg on the drug drama "Cocaine Cowboys," a feature adaptation of the acclaimed documentary.
Russell is also developing a "Dirty Harry"-esque franchise with Ice Cube, as well as two projects with Vince Vaughn -- the Universal action pic "2 Guns" and the father-daughter drama "Old St. Louis." He's also shown interest in a Russ Meyer biopic that's set up at Fox Searchlight, and had been talking to producer Jane Rosenthal about a feature concerning former Providence mayor Buddy Cianci.
Source: Variety