UPDATE: Now Deadline Hollywood is reporting that Goldsman will only executive produce, not direct, the film. So who knows anything any more.

When we reported a few weeks ago that Brian De Palma was a leading contender to direct Paramount's Paranormal Activity 2, we noted that even more bizarrely, they at one point wanted A Beautiful Mind screenwriter Akiva Goldsman to handle the job. It seemed like one of those crazy ideas a studio came up with and immediately abandoned, but as it turns out, Goldsman was far more in the running than we assumed-- he's probably getting the job.

Shock Til You Drop is reporting that Goldsman is almost guaranteed as the director of the film, and Paramount will be making an announcement of the director very, very soon. Of course, Paranormal Activity 2 is still slated for an October 22 release this year, so if they drag their heels any longer they're going to have to drag Oren Peli back in there or something. Goldsman is a completely crazy choice on the surface-- he's never directed a film, and only has experience writing big-budget projects-- but that must mean there's something to him that we can't see from here. If he in fact gets the job, Paranormal 2 will at least be worth watching for how crazy it could turn out to be.