The new adaptation of Robert Ludlum’s thriller novel The Osterman Weekend has been through the hands of one or two directors already, with Doug Liman and Robert Schwentke both attached at different times. Now it looks like Game Of Thrones director Brian Kirk is the next in line to take a crack.
Kirk, who has also worked on the most recent stab at Great Expectations for the Beeb and other TV including Luther, Boardwalk Empire and HBO’s latest, Luck, has one film credit – Middletown – under his belt. He hit the radar last year when he was in the running to direct Thor 2, but ended up losing the gig to fellow Thrones man Alan Taylor.
If he does handle Osterman, Kirk will bring a story full of paranoia to the screen. The plot finds a man named John Tanner about to enjoy his annual weekend getaway with friends. But then he gets a visit from a reporter who ominously tells him that his mates aren’t who he thinks they are. He scoffs, but then the hack shows up dead. Cue our hero going on the run as he tries to figure out whom he can trust...
Ludlum’s novel was originally brought the to screen back in 1983 by no lesser director than Sam Peckinpah, so whoever gets the gig for this version will have that to live up to.
Kirk is also attached to a few other projects, including drug mule drama **Midnight Delivery **(which boasts Guillermo del Toro as a producer), and rodeo romance drama Paper Wings, which has seen both Will Smith and Tom Cruise flirt with the lead role.