After countless false starts on various projects*, it seems that Alex Proyas (The Crow, Dark City) will finally get another project off the ground. His last effort was 2009’s Nic Cage-starrer, Knowing, which I actually enjoyed more than I probably should have.
Proyas has been tapped to direct an adaptation of Robert Heinlein’s The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag for Red Granite Pictures. The story follows the titular character on his journey to discover the answer to a problem he is facing: Every morning he wakes up with a curious red substance under his fingernails and no memory of what it is or how it got there. In desperation, he hires a pair of detectives to follow him. What follows is a tale involving a secret society and some reality-bending revelations.
Sound vaguely familiar? It should. The 1942 novella is apparently a favorite of Alex’s and was a major influence on Dark City. Proyas penned the script himself and will co-produce the project through his own company, Mystery Clock Cinema. Phoenix Pictures and Mythology Entertainment**. The film is scheduled to lens this fall on Proyas’ home turf, Australia
Personally, I’m somewhat excited. I, Robot was a mess, but most of that can be laid at the feet of Will Smith and Tom Rothman. Knowing was simply lesser material that Proyas seemed to at least partially elevate. While I wouldn’t go so far as to call Proyas an amazing talent, you can’t deny that the man knows how to do dystopic science fiction. Hoag might not turn out to be a classic, but if Proyas is left to his own devices, it should AT LEAST be interesting.
* – AMP, The Tripods, Future Perfect, Dracula: Year Zero, etc. Poor Proyas has been attached to a LOT of projects since Knowing that have yet to materialize.
** – Operated writers James Vanderbilt & Laeta Kalogridis, among others.
Source | STYD