Phoenix Pictures is on fire and they haven’t even mentioned S________ M_________* yet. The production company, recently responsible for the classic Zodiac, Scorsese’s Shutter Island, and the upcoming Darren Aronofsky/David Self reawakening of Robocop, now has added another rather visionary filmmaker to their slate and he’s got a beloved sci-fi tome with him.
Alex Proyas is going to adapt and direct Robert A. Heinlein’s The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag. This is a book I haven’t read so let me act like the authority on it.
It’s probably pretty good.
From the Press Release:
“Originally published in 1942, sci-fi tale centers around a man who becomes increasingly disturbed when he realizes he cannot account for his activities during the day, or even what he does for a living. He divulges his problem to the husband and wife partners of a private detective agency, and asks that they follow him in the hopes of shedding some light on his odd predicament. The duo are intrigued enough to take on the task, and while their investigation ultimately leads to a series of revelations they could never have fathomed, it isn’t long before they are warned of severe consequences if they don’t immediately cease their inquiries into the nature of Hoag’s identity.“
Alex Proyas is an interesting filmmaker and Heinlein’s a seminal genre guy and coupled with the Phoenix crew, especially Brad Fischer (a guy I KNOW is aces at his job) I can only imagine this will deliver on the promise of Proyas coupled with a great sci-fi author. I’m pretty sure the Proyas/Asimov coupling of I, Robot was tainted. I don’t see that happening here, as Phoenix has a knack for pairing exemplary material and aggressive directors and coming out on the other end with the material intact.
More on this as it comes, and hopefully someday soon we’ll be able to discuss another amazing Phoenix Pictures project around these parts.