Bourne author Robert Ludlum‘s Hollywood tour continues, as we’ve just learned another one of his novels is making its way to the big screen. According to Deadline, Irish director Brian Kirk is in talks to helm The Osterman Weekend, a Lionsgate/Summit project based on Ludlum‘s 1972 novel of the same name.
The adaptation will be scripted by Simon Kinberg and Jesse Wigutow, telling a story that mixes, in true Ludlum fashion, “conspiracy, murder and a man on the run.” The novel follows John Tanner, who, on the eve of an annual weekend getaway with his friends, “is visited by a reporter who tells him his friends aren’t who he thinks they are. When the reporter turns up dead, Tanner gets caught in downward spiral of doubt and paranoia and, ultimately, a desperate fight to stay alive long enough to figure out who he can trust and who’s out to kill him.” Peter Davis is producing through his Davis-Panzer Productions with Kinberg, Doug Liman and Jeffrey Weiner.
Aside from this new project, Kirk is also developing Paper Wings for Sony and potentially Tom Cruise, as well as the Guillermo Del Toro produced Midnight Delivery for Universal. He’s worked in TV for several years, most recently on the BBC miniseries Great Expectations and Luther, as well as the hugely successful Game of Thrones.
Even though he has some pretty substantial projects in the works, directing a Ludlum adaptation is definitely a good way to get your name out in Hollywood. Kirk, however, does have an earlier adaptation to compete with: a 1983 version, which was directed by Sam Peckinpah and starred Burt Lancaster, Dennis Hopper and Rutger Hauer.
Have you read The Osterman Weekend? If so, how do you feel about this new adaptation?