There scattered reports earlier this year that Summit Entertainment purchased the film rights to William Kalush and Larry Sloman’s biography, The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero, to make “an action thriller featuring a character who is part Indiana Jones and part Sherlock Holmes.”
Entertainment web site IGN opined Summit’s decision to stray from the bio-pic format was to build a franchise on Houdini’s fame; not necessarily his life.
The studio announced in March 2009, it was looking for a writer to craft the story and build the super-hero character.
They apparently found their writer and his credits fit the need for a super-hero take on Houdini.
Jeff Nathanson, writer of Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will write the script. Mr. Nathanson worked with Steven Spielberg on Catch Me if You Can and the horrible waste of celluloid The Terminal. His action credits also include Rush Hour 2 and Speed 2: Cruise Control.
IGN was not able to receive confirmation of the writing assignment from Mr. Nathanson’s Hollywood agents, CAA.
Summit was apparently excited by the book’s suggestion that Houdini was a spy for Britain, and possibly murdered by spiritualists in retribution for his very effective debunking of their craft. The book certainly made the suggestions but offered very little support for either the spy or murder claim.
News of this potential deal brings up a sore subject for us here at Inside Magic.
Continue reading Houdini Slated as Next Movie Superhero
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