Director in talks for Grisham adaptation.
Helmer Adrian Lyne (‘Fatal Attraction,’ ‘Flashdance’) is set to return to the director’s chair after a 10-year absence. Variety reports that Lyne, who hasn’t directed a studio feature since 2002’s ‘Unfaithful,’ has entered talks to take the long-in-development adaptation of John Grisham’s legal thriller ‘The Associate.’
Written by William Monahan (‘The Departed’), the story follows a student who’s about to graduate from Yale Law School when he’s manipulated into accepting a job at a prestige law firm and given privileged information about a multibillion-dollar lawsuit.
Originally setup with Shia LaBeouf attached to star and Tony Scott possibly directing, the project got stuck in development hell after Paramount was unable to figure out a budget. With a budget now in the $25 million-$30 million range, the studio is on the hunt for a lead, and according to sources for the trade, Andrew Garfield is the studio’s first choice.