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Crystall Skull scribe in charge of rebooting Jack Ryan!?


Oh for fucks sake, what’s the problem here!?! Why can’t one of the thirty or forty writers, or how many have been on this, crack the Jack Ryan script? What is it that Paramount are hoping to accomplish with this film? I imagine they want a film that’s going to play a lot younger than the previous Ryan movies did, and Chris Pine’s hiring as Ryan confirms that, and that might pose to be a challenge but surely one of the talented writers that have worked on the reboot are capable of serving up an intriguing enough thriller with enough action/adventure elements to keep even the most juvenile of viewers interested? Latest is that David Koepp, who wrote “Mission : Impossible” and “Jurassic Park” (and, lest we forget it, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”), has been hired to rewrite the script for the film – no longer titled “Moscow”. According to Deadline, Koepp – whose latest script “Men in Black III” is currently before the cameras – will be paid 7-figures to rewrite Adam Cozard’s script. And, of course, next month they’ll be someone else on the project.

Previously…

This Jack Ryan reboot just can’t catch a break (Paramount, if you need another idea pertaining to Jack Ryan, try this one) it seems. In the works for a good couple of years now, the film tentatively titled “Moscow” and with Chris Pine attached to play the title role, has been through more scriptwriters than a “Basic Instinct” cast member. Seems that nobody, despite some of the writers being rather accomplished penners, has been able to crack the script for the flick. Somewhere, Tom Clancy is chortling – Paramount, after all, decided they didn’t need Jack Ryan’s creator and the author of the umpteen books he features in to do the movie (“Moscow” is the first film in the series to be made without Clancy’s involvement).

According to Deadline, Steve Zaillian, who wrote the 1994 Ryan film ”Clear and Present Danger” and did uncredited rewrite work on ”Patriot Games”, ”made a deal last month to rewrite the reboot script but had a change of heart and withdrew within the last two weeks. The studio has begun interviewing other writers.”

The script, which originated from the mind of Adam Cozard (it’s based on his spec “Dubai”), will center on Ryan’s younger years – back when he had that terrible helicopter accident that he talks of in “The Hunt for Red October” and also when he worked on Wall Street. Fair to say James Earl Jones won’t be involved.

Originally, Paramount wanted Chris Pine to do the “Moscow” movie before he reprised Captain Kirk for them but plans have obviously changed now and instead Paramount’s bringing “Star Trek II” forward, leaving “Moscow” for later. Adds Deadline, ”Insiders tell me that an OK version of Ryan could have been put into production this year, but the priority is more about launching a new franchise then filling a release slot.”

Wow, that’s a rarity.

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