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John Moore Developing Ice Road Truckers Film, Maybe in 3D

by Ethan Anderton
June 29, 2010
Source: Deadline

Since we don't write about television here, you may not be aware of my passionate hate for reality television. While there's definitely a difference in the level of quality between shit like "Wife Swap" and something like History Channel's "Ice Road Truckers," I'm just not a fan of the voyeuristic turn that television has taken, even if the content contains a moderately interesting career like the latter. However, Deadline reports 20th Century Fox is banking on the popularity of the daring truck drivers as they are developing a feature Ice Road Truckers film with director John Moore (Max Payne) and an unnamed writer working on a story.

The studio is very excited about the idea for this movie, which hatches some sort of story centered around a group of truckers who drive 18-wheelers over a 350-mile highway made of ice, as they haul equipment and supplies to diamond miners working in the tundra of Canada's Northwest Territories. Along with the career's dangers of the elements causing all sorts of accidents and difficulties, Moore plans to throw even more danger into the mix. Here's Moore's general take on the concept:

"It is very much a tough guy movie. Here's a bunch of characters who tackle problems by getting in there and getting things done. We'll turn it into a mission movie that harkens back to 'Towering Inferno,' 'Jaws,' or 'The Guns of Navarone.' You got a problem, go solve it."

The only reason the collaborating writer isn't identified is because a deal hasn't been locked down yet, and Moore doesn't want to count his chickens before they're hatched. Apparently Moore thinks this is perfect for a 3D feature, but the studio doesn't sound like they're going to go down that road (no pun intended). The concept sounds somewhat interesting, but if the formula works, I dread the possibility of studios trying to turn other reality shows into movies.

In the meantime, Moore just worked on a comic book series called Dead Solider with the intention to have established intellectual property to show to executives in order to develop a film around it (kind of like how 30 Days of Night got off the ground). The graphic novel tells the story of an American soldier in WWI, who's the badly injured sole survivor of a platoon devastated by a German offensive. A twist of events leads to his transformation into a creature with incredible power. "We're about to publish the first issue, and we'll send it to a few executives and see what happens," Moore said. Stick around to hear how both projects develop.

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