Seth Gordon To Direct Suicide Squad; Updates King Of Kong Remake
King of KongdirectorSeth Gordonhas signed on to directSuicide Squadfor Working Title Films and Universal Pictures. According toTHR, the story follows a desperate con man, out on parole, who recruits a crew of amateur criminals to rip off the Kentucky Derby. Sounds kinda like if Oceans Eleven was made up of a team of losers and never-have-beens. Brother screenwriting teamMatt and Billy Eddypenned the latest draft, based on an original script byChris Johnson. Gordon makes his fictional feature film debut with the Reese Witherspoon/Vince Vaughn romantic comedyFour Christmases.
Meanwhile, our friends atFirstShowingwere able to catch up with Gordon at theFour Christmasesjunket, and got an update on New Line’s fictional remake ofThe King of Kong. Last we heard, Scott Pilgrim screenwriter Michael Bacall was hired to pen the script. Gordon says that the remake will “be less of the talking heads” and will show moments they weren’t able to film in the process of making the documentary.
“But in terms of the story, it’s going to be a very similar story – about Wiebe losing his job, rediscovering Kong, thinking he’s the best in the world at something only to have it taken away by a guy who won’t let go of his title,” Gordon told FS. “We’re going to try, if we can, to really reference and use the documentary where possible. To me it’s about not compromising the original, if we can help it.”
New Line supposedly has “a really strong, aggressive commitment to it” and Gordon expects it to go into production “pretty soon”. But from the sound of the Suicide Squad announcement, probably not soon enough.
