Ah, remember the days when Hayden Christensen showed dramatic prowess as sniveling "journalist" Stephen Glass in Billy Ray’s "Shattered Glass?"
Christensen, of course, has gone from playing a young Darth Vader for "Star Wars" creator George Lucas, to starring in Doug Liman’s disappointing sci-fi film "Jumper," to now the cinematic equivalent of hitting rock bottom by working with David R. Ellis, the director of the infamous B-movie "Snakes on a Plane."
Myriad Pictures has announced that Christensen will star in Ellis’ religious thriller "The Genesis Code," based on the book by John Case.
Kevin Bernhardt ("Elephant White") adapted the screenplay, which follows Joe Lassiter, a former national security expert who discovers that a religious sect called the Shadow of the Cross may be involved in the murder of his only sister and her young son.
Lassiter teams up with his sister’s friend to follow the clues that lead to an Italian clinic that has been successfully conducting secret experiments, which threaten to destroy the very foundation of the Church.
The movie sounds like a "Da Vinci Code" rip-off that should’ve starred Kirk Cameron of "Left Behind" fame, but that won’t stop Myriad from selling the film at the upcoming Cannes Film Market. Let’s just hope it turns out better than the medical thriller "Awake," which, pardon the pun, put me right to sleep.
Tove Christensen (Hayden’s older brother) is producing "The Genesis Code" with Michael Mailer, Alvaro Longoria and Myriad’s president-CEO Kirk D’Amico.
Christensen will next be seen as part of the tough-guy ensemble of John Luessenhop’s "Takers," which looks like a fun movie in the vein of "Armored" that stars Zoe Saldana and Idris Elba of "The Losers." Christensen also stars opposite Thandie Newton and John Leguizamo in "Vanishing on 7th Street," a mystery-thriller from director Brad Anderson, whose genre movies are always intriguing.
