THR tells us that Disney is putting its hopes on writer Dan Harris, hiring him to pen Hovercar, a sci-fi adventure story based on Matthew Riley‘s young adult novel Hover Car Racer. I put it that way because, as it turns out, the Superman Returns and X2 co-writer is one of many scribes to tackle the material since Disney’s owned it — going all the way back to 2004 — putting him in the same company as David DiGilio, Blaise Hemingway, and none other than John Sayles.

Riley‘s original book took place in “a near future where humans travel in vehicles that float a few feet above the ground,” and in which “racing the vehicles becomes a glamorous sport.” The focus is on “Jason Chaser [you must be kidding], a young man who enters an international race school.” That description screams post-Harry Potter kid’s lit — and doesn’t sound all that complicated in its own right — so I don’t know what’s held back the project for all these years. At least Harris, a talented writer, is being given a chance to do something with it.

Meanwhile, Variety reports that Tim Dowling is coming on an untitled DreamWorks comedy from Blades of Glory directors Will Speck and Josh Gordon. Although The Hangover writers Scott Moore and Jon Lucas were responsible for the first draft — which centered on a Hangover-inspired “Christmas party that gets out of hand” — Dowling will completely rework this piece for the studio. But it’s also said that “[s]everal top comic actors” are interested in the project; it’d be odd if they entirely changed something that was attracting names, right? Just make it funny, profitable, and quick, and everyone should be good.

Do either of these projects catch your attention?