David Koepp, the writer of Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, is in negotiations with Columbia Pictures to direct two movies for the studio.
First up is Billionaire’s Vinegar, loosely based on Benjamin Wallace’s pithily-titled novel, The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine, about a scandal that erupted when the authenticity of an auctioned cache of wine, said to be from Thomas Jefferson’s stocks, was called into question.
It may not seem that commercial, but Will Smith is one of the six producers involved in the film, and his instincts are generally on the big piles of money. So let’s keep an eye on this one.
Koepp will co-write the script with John Kamps, but he’ll strike out on his own to write the second project, Article II.
That will be adapted from the Charles McCarry novel, Shelley’s Heart, about two lifelong friends who become bitter rivals when they end up on either side of a presidential contest that is – shock! Horror! – won by computer fraud.
Both movies will represent a change of pace for Koepp, whose previous movies as director – The Trigger Effect, Stir Of Echoes, Secret Window and last year’s Ricky Gervais comedy, Ghost Town – have all been concerned in some way with the supernatural, or the otherworldly. Naturally, we wish him well with both.
By the way, rumours that proceeds from either movie will be used to build a sanctuary for CG gophers are, sadly, false.