Just last month we reported that Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) was circling an adaptation of 20th Century Fox’s young-adult sci-fi flick, The Maze Runner. However while it seems she’s now committed to the project, it might be a while before it goes into production, as a screenwriter has only just been hired.
The LA Times reports that Noah Oppenheim has got the job. He’s a former Today Show producer whose screenplay Jackie, about the days after JFK’s assassination told from the First Lady’s perspective, landed on the Black List. He’s currently writing the script for a remake of the Swedish thriller Snabba Cash, which has Zac Efron slated to star.
The Maze Runner is the first book in James Dashner’s sci-fi trilogy, which was published in October 2009 (it was previously said Dashner would write the script himself, but that no longer seems to be the case). The story follows a boy named Thomas who wakes up in a strange place called the Glade with no memory aside from his first name. The Glade is an enclosed structure populated by other boys, and is surrounded by tall, stone walls that protect them from monsters called Grievers that live in the Maze, which surrounds them.
Every day, some of the kids, known as Runners, venture into the labyrinth trying to map the ever-changing pattern of walls in an attempt to find an exit. As soon as Thomas arrives, unusual things begin to happen and the others grow suspicious of him. The Maze seems familiar to Thomas, but he’s unable to make sense of the place despite his extraordinary abilities as a Runner. When the first girl arrives in the Glade, she brings a message that she will be the last one to ever arrive in the Glade, as the end is near.
Oppenheim isn’t the only one with a new writing gig, as Night At The Museum co-writers (and Reno 911 stars) Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant have taken over creative control on the upcoming Summit Entertainment comedy, The Wee McGinty. The project is being referred to as The Bourne Identity meets Leprechaun In the Hood.
The duo is set to rewrite a pre-existing script, originally penned by Mark Gibson and Philip Halprin, with Garant taking on directorial duties.
The story revolves around a wish-granting Leprechaun who loses his memory and decides to join the local firefighting squad. Though he finds happiness amongst his new firehouse friends, he is in danger of being discovered by other Leprechauns who will ostracise him forever and take away his wish-granting powers. A fire-breathing Doberman also plays into this strange adventure.
Lennon will also star in the movie.