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Eric Bana Attached to Paranormal Police Thriller 'Beware the Night'

by Ben Pearson
November 13, 2012
Source: Variety

A couple months ago, Sinister director Scott Derrickson signed on to direct a police thriller called Beware the Night that has a supernatural twist. Rumor had it that Mark Wahlberg passed on the lead role of a detective in New York City who investigates real life werewolves, demon possessions, and exorcisms, and we wondered if Sinister star Ethan Hawke would take over once Derrickson came aboard. But it looks like they're going in a different direction, as Variety reports that Troy and Munich star Eric Bana is in negotiations for the part. Not only that, but mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer is producing the film, too.

Derrickson and co-writer Paul Boardman were apparently given the first go at writing the script years ago, and the project bounced around to other writers like David Ayer (Training Day) and Bryan Bertino (The Strangers) before returning to them when Derrickson scored the directing gig. That duo has also written the upcoming Devil's Knot, the story of the West Memphis 3 starring Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon, so it will be interesting to see how they go from adapting real events with that story into something totally fantastical with Beware the Night.

Bana is an inspired casting choice. Despite starring in a lot of solid films, he's never really broken out as a true A-list actor, so maybe headlining a smaller genre piece like this is a better career move for him. (I completely forgot that Ang Lee's Hulk movie existed until right now, so that tells you how much of a long lasting impact he left in that role.) But as I'm sure you've all noticed, most of Bruckheimer's films all share a very distinct Prince of Persia look to them, so I'm wondering if he'll back off and let Derrickson and his team create a real atmosphere with this project, or if he'll continue to dictate the look of the picture. Interested?

Filed under Casting, Movie News

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