This weekend Rosamund Pike (Barney’s Version), Hayley Atwell (Captain America: The First Avenger) and Alexa Davalos (Clash of the Titans) are all reading with writer/director Christopher McQuarrie for the part of leading lady in his upcoming Tom Cruise vehicle One Shot, adapted from the Lee Child (real name Jim Grant) 2005 novel of the same name. Paramount and Skydance are co-producing the film, a Jack Reacher story. [THR]
The Reacher character is a staple of Child’s resume, an ex-Army cop who, in One Shot, is sucked into the case of a sniper’s slaughter of 5 random people in the center of a heartland city. A man is arrested and accused of the crime, pleading his innocence and telling the cops to “get Jack Reacher.” Reacher, convinced the man is guilty, digs deep to prove to himself and the police that this man is the sniper. The deeper he digs, of course, the less clear it becomes.
Brit Marling (Another Earth) was pursued for the role, that of a tough lawyer and daughter of the District Attorney, but chose Robert Redford’s next, the political thriller The Company You Keep, over McQuarrie’s thriller.
Pike, Atwell and Davalos are all accomplished alternatives. Both Pike and Atwell have been building solid reputations over the years in small, sometimes British, dramas. Pike first turned heads in Joe Wright’s Pride and Prejudice, Atwell as the female foil opposite Ewan McGregor in Woody Allen’s flawed Cassandra’s Dream. Davalos, featured in Clash of the Titans, The Mist, Feast of Love and Defiance, has plenty of experience while lacking the name recognition of the other two actresses.
Atwell’s superb turn in Marvel’s Captain America certainly gives her a leg up if Paramount/Skydance and McQuarrie are looking for a young actress who’s already proven herself in a studio tentpole. Ironically, Pike’s first big studio role will be as Andromeda in Wrath of the Titans, a role originally played by Davalos in 2010. Davalos dropped out of the sequel, directed by Jonathan Liebsman (Battle: Los Angeles), for undisclosed reasons.
The studio is planning to start principal photography on One Shot this fall in Pittsburgh.
Are you a fan of Lee Child? Have you read the Jack Reacher series?