Will Gluck, the director behind “Easy A” and “Friends With Benefits,” is in final negotiations to direct and produce a film based on Geoffrey Gray’s “Skyjack: The Hunt for D.B. Cooper.”
Gluck’s directing deal is done, but his producing deal is still being worked on, according to an individual with knowledge of the situation.
Maria Faillace and Mark Ross will oversee the project, once CBS Films completes its negotiations for the rights to the New York Times bestseller, which fictionalizes the infamous skyjacking tale.
Back in 1971, Cooper took control of a Boeing 727 and earned $200,000 in ransom money. Authorities have never found or identified Cooper; Gray's story looks at him from the perspective of three different people.
The viewer won’t know which of the three is really Cooper until the end.
The action comedy aims for a mix of “The Usual Suspects” and “Catch Me if You Can.”
Keith Bunin, who contributed seven episodes to HBO’s “In Treatment” in 2009, will adapt the book. He also is developing a live action movie about Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) for Illumination Entertainment and Universal with Johnny Depp attached to play Seuss.
Gluck signed a two-year production and development deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment, covering both television and movie projects, last May. This project is an exception to that deal.
