Harry Houdini was quite the fascinating individual. In addition to being the greatest escapologist of all time, he also had an acting career, a deep passion for aviation and used his spare time as a "ghostbuster," exposing spiritualist frauds. He lived quite a life in just 51 years and now Scott Frank is likely going to be learning all about it.
THR reports that Frank is currently in talks with Sony to script Houdini, the film set to be directed by Francis Lawrence. The project has been in development since the late 1990s with names such as Paul Verhoeven, Ang Lee and Robert Zemeckis all expressing interest in helming. Called a "more grounded" take on the legendary figure, the story will center on Houdini who, while trying to debunk a beautiful con-artist, finds his judgement clouded as he begins to fall in love. Lawrence and producer Jimmy Miller developed the idea prior to the director signing on in March.
While the storyline seems a touch generic and stupid, I'm willing to give Scott Frank a chance. While his most recent film was the impressively mediocre Marley and Me, his track record includes Malice, The Lookout, Minority Report, Get Shorty, and Out of Sight (which earned him an Oscar nomination). The guy is one of the best screenwriters in the business and deserves the benefit of the doubt.
