Although the tome won’t hit shelves until January, Warner Bros. are so keen on Adam Sternbergh‘s Shovel Ready that a motion picture adaptation is coming together with big names circling. According to Deadline, the studio and producer Erwin Stoff have snagged Denzel Washington into negotiations over a role which, from the first description, brings to mind a cross between Man on Fire and The Book of Eli. Not the worst start, wouldn’t you say?
As originally penned by Sternbergh, Shovel Ready would see the actor portray a hitman roving around the “bombed-out, near future New York City where most of the population escapes reality by tapping into a digital fantasy world.” First asked to kill a corrupt evangelist’s daughter, the hired gun soon forms a personal bond with the girl, and, soon enough, is looking out for her in this metropolitan dystopia. (The soon-to-shoot The Equalizer covers some similar ground, as a matter of fact.) While there’s no indication of a production start — this often happens when no director, screenwriter, or star are attached — this is not one I’d mind seeing gain some traction.
A minor connecting thread can be found in this next casting item, for Washington‘s Equalizer and Flight co-star, Melissa Leo, is picking up a role of her own. Also reported at Deadline, we’ve been told she’ll be coming along for Mark Webber‘s The Ever After, a “hard examination of a marriage” starring the writer-director and Teresa Palmer (Malick‘s Knight of Cups, Warm Bodies). In this, again, “hard examination,” we shall see the actress portray “a mystical individual who has a profound impact on [their] relationship.”
Despite a likely small scope of things, the cast on The Ever After has plenty more in store: Rosario Dawson, Jaime King, rapper KiD CuDi (a.k.a. Michael Tescudi), and Phoebe Tonkin (The Vampire Diaries) have been looking at the project as of late.
Does Shovel Ready sound like a wise choice for Washington? What are some early impressions of The Ever After?