Tradecraft: Mission: Impossible Writer Tackles Jack Ryan

Another month, another screenwriter on the interminably long-in-development Jack Ryan origin film.  Following a succession of scribes that's included Hossein Amini, Adam Cozad, Anthony Peckham, Cozad again and, briefly, Steve Zaillian (who changed his mind before actually contributing a draft), Paramount has now turned to Big Bucks Franchise Man David Koepp to try his hand at rebooting Tom Clancy's famed CIA analyst in the person of Chris Pine.  Deadline reports that Koepp will be paid seven figures for his rewrite (still based on the Cozad draft), a fee he's earned from contributions to such mega-hit franchises as Jurassic Park, Spider-man, Men in Black and Indiana Jones, to name just a few of his blockbusters.  His most major previous contribution to the spy genre was collaborating on the screenplay for the first Mission: Impossible film with Zaillian and Robert Towne.  (I don't know which one of those writers came up with the brilliant idea of making Jim Phelps a traitor, but I'd like to give that one a punch in the face.)  According to the trade blog, Paramount hopes to start production on the new Jack Ryan movie in January, after Pine finishes with the Star Trek sequel.  (It was previously slated to film before Trek.)  Lost's Jack Bender, who must be a very patient man, is still attached to direct.

Against All Enemies: Another New Tom Clancy Novel On the Way

This is kind of surprising.  After a seven-year hiatus following The Teeth of the Tiger, Tom Clancy is delivering two mammoth new spy thrillers within six months of one another.  2010's Dead or Alive, which debuted in hardcover in time for Christmas, doesn't even come out in paperback until September... but that's not stopping Clancy from unleashing another new hardcover novel, Against All Enemies, this summer.  Due out June 14, the 768-page novel is co-written with Peter Telep.  Dead or Alive was also written with a collaborator (Grant Blackwood); perhaps that's the secret to Clancy suddenly becoming so prolific.  In the past, he had collaborated on (or in many cases merely lent his name to) various series of paperback originals, including Op-Center, NetForce and Splinter Cell. (Former James Bond continuation author Raymond Benson penned the original novel in that series and a follow-up, Operation: Barracuda, under the pen name of David Michaels.) But Dead or Alive marked the first occasion on which the author collaborated on a book in his signature Jack Ryan series. It's unclear right now whether or not Against All Enemies is set in the Ryan Universe, though it is definitely a hardcover being billed as a Clancy original, and not part of one of those other series.  (The only other hardcover, fictional novel Clancy had previously collaborated on was Red Storm Rising, an adaptation of a videogame he conceived, and not part of the Ryan oeuvre.)  Borders offers the following description:

CIA agent Max Moore is a man on a mission. An unholy alliance between Islamic terrorists and Mexican drug cartels threatens the safety of America's southern border. Moore's new team has to infiltrate the warring cartels in order to uncover the plot, but doing that is next to impossible when there's a war on America's doorstep.

Whether it's a Jack Ryan story or not, this certainly sounds like vintage Clancy.  (Sort of like Clear and Present Danger meets The Sum of All Fears, in fact.)  And a vintage Clancy title, too (recalling Richard Clarke's seminal book of the same name on the War on Terror). Actually, I'm surprised he hadn't used it already! So while the next Jack Ryan movie remains in limbo (as reported yesterday), Clancy fans can at least get their fix in print—and plenty of it.

Read more about Against All Enemies here.

Tradecraft: Jack Ryan's Return Delayed Again

Somewhat unsurprisingly (given the long and troubled history of this reboot), Deadline reports that the wait will be even longer before we see Chris Pine's Jack Ryan in action. Just last month we heard that Steve Zaillian, the Oscar-winning screenwriter who worked on both Harrison Ford Jack Ryan movies, would tackle the problematic script for Paramount's reboot of the Tom Clancy series starring Pine.  Well, according to the trade blog, Zaillian has changed his mind and is moving on.  So the writing gig is up for grabs again, and the studio doesn't have a script they're happy with in time to film this spring, as planned.  Which means that Pine will have to move on to the Star Trek sequel scheduled to shoot in the fall before he gets his turn as Clancy's famous CIA analyst and future President.  In the interim, it's possible that director Jack Bender (Lost) might move on as well.  (And who could blame him?)  The project supposedly remains a priority for franchise-hungry Paramount, however, and is merely delayed, not dead in the water.

Alec Baldwin Reveals Why He Was Dumped as Jack Ryan

Whenever Paramount's latest, oft-delayed Jack Ryan reboot finally gets off the ground, Chris Pine will be the fourth actor to portray Tom Clancy's famed CIA analyst character.  But had history gone differently, that might not have been the case.  Potentially, The Hunt For Red October's Jack Ryan, Alec Baldwin, could have aged with the role and eventually become President Ryan, following the trajectory of Clancy's books.  Now, Baldwin reveals why that didn't happen for the first time on The Huffington Post (via Dark Horizons)—weirdly, in the form of career advice for Charlie Sheen.  I remember reading in an article in Premiere Magazine back in 1991 that newly-minted star Baldwin was getting notions beyond his station and demanding "Harrison Ford money," and that Paramount figured if they were going to shell out Harrison Ford money, they might as well get Harrison Ford.  (Remember, Ford was the biggest box office draw in the world back then.)  Apparently there was really a lot more to the story than that, involving, in Baldwin's words, "the biggest, lyingest, thievingest scumbags on Earth." The actor provides an insightful and well-written account of those events from his point of view in this article.  For Ryan fans, it's worth a read.

Tradecraft: Steve Zaillian Returns to Jack Ryan (Updated)

Deadline reports that Steve Zaillian (Schindler's List) is the latest writer to try his hand at Paramount's Jack Ryan franchise reboot set to star Chris Pine.  The in-demand, Oscar-winning screenwriter is no stranger to the spy genre in general or to Tom Clancy's hero in particular; his spy filmography includes The Falcon and the Snowman (1985), Misison: Impossible (1996) and The Interpreter (2005), as well as Clear and Present Danger (1994) and, according to Deadline, an uncredited pass on Patriot Games (1992), both of which starred Harrison Ford as Ryan. Zaillian's involvement follows drafts by Hossein Amini, Adam Cozad, Anthony Peckham and Cozad again. The trade blog reports that Zaillian is now expected to "bring it home." As previously reported, Jack Bender (Lost) is directing, and the movie, tentatively known as Moscow, is expected to be a prequel (not based on a Clancy novel) set before Jack Ryan ever worked for the CIA. Deadline reports that the script is rumored to feature the horrific helicopter crash that Ryan (Alec Baldwin) recalls in The Hunt For Red October.

The Hollywood Reporter adds that the movie was supposed to start shooting in Budapest this March, but shooting had already been pushed back to some nebulous time in the spring. According to the trade, "Zaillian boarding the project will push the start date further, possibly up to four or five weeks, although Paramount can’t risk any more time since the studio needs Pine for the Star Trek sequel, which will also likely be nudged slightly, but not enough to impact its release date."

Tradecraft: Shawn Ryan Tackles Tom Clancy

Well, not literally, although that would be kind of fun to see. Trade blog The Vulture reports that Paramount has hired the mastermind behind what for my money was the best cop show ever to adapt Tom Clancy's 1994 novel Without Remorse. The Shield creator Shawn Ryan is the latest writer to take a stab at a movie the studio has wanted to make pretty much ever since the book was published.  (Am I crazy, or was a post-Forrest Gump, pre-TV Gary Sinese attached at one point?) Without Remorse follows Jack Ryan's "dark side" Mr. Clark (aka John Kelly) in his formative years during the Vietnam War on both a covert mission and a personal vendetta.  According to the blog, though, "there's no definitive plan to make the film a period piece."  I guess that would make sense, if the studio wants Clark to remain a contemporary of their new Jack Ryan, played by Chris Pine in Jack Bender's upcoming movie, but I think it could be really cool as a gritty 70s-set action movie.  Willem Dafoe played Mr. Clark in Clear and Present Danger (starring Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan) and Liev Schreiber played him opposite Ben Affleck's Ryan in The Sum of All Fears.

Tradecraft: Another Writer Takes A Crack At Jack

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Paramount has tapped Anthony Peckham to have a go at their Jack Ryan reboot starring Chris Pine.  Lately the movie has been known as Moscow, but I'm not sure if that's still the case.  Adam Cozad and Hossein Amini previously worked on this script, which is not based on a Tom Clancy novel and focuses on the author's hero as a young man before he ever joined the CIA.  According to the trade, "the studio hopes to begin shooting this year or early next year and is hiring Peckham to prep the project for take-off."  Peckham's previous writing credits include Invictus, The Book of Eli and Sherlock Holmes.  Lost's Jack Bender was previously announced as the director. Pine will be the fourth actor to play Jack Ryan after Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck. Jack Ryan also returns to bookstores this winter (in his older and more familiar post-Presidential incarnation) in Dead or Alive, Clancy's first novel in years–co-written this time with Grant Blackwood.

Tradecraft: Lost Director Found For New Jack Ryan Movie

Deadline reports that Jack Bender, who directed the much talked about series finale of Lost, as well as 35 other episodes of the J.J. Abrams sci-fi show, is the frontrunner to helm the next Jack Ryan movie.  As was announced last year, Star Trek's Chris Pine will star.  According to the trade blog, the film is tentatively titled Moscow.  As previously reported, it is not based on a Tom Clancy novel, but instead upon an original screenplay by Hossein Amini called Dubai which was retrofitted (and relocated) by Adam Cozad to feature a young Jack Ryan prior to his CIA career.  Personally, I don't see the point in telling a story about Jack Ryan before he joined the CIA, but hopefully Bender can craft a solid thriller nonetheless.  Bender has been a prolific TV director since the early 80s working on many shows (including Abrams' Alias) and occasional TV movies and features.