Oren Moverman, writer and director of the critically acclaimed drama The Messenger and the upcoming Rampart, will write the screenplay for Sony Pictures’ The Terrorist Search Engine, according to Deadline.
This true-life drama, which is being set up as a star vehicle for Jesse Eisenberg, chronicles baby-faced counter-terrorism expert Evan Kohlmann, who is known as the Doogie Howser, M.D. of terrorism. By the age of 23, Evan Kohlmann was able to deliver convincing testimony that he gathered by following people on the Internet, which led to the conviction of almost two-dozen defendants on terrorism charges.
You’d have thought that after The Social Network, Eisenberg may have steered clear of the web for a while, but then, after the success of that movie, perhaps he thinks he can score another Oscar nomination with another Internet movie.
Oren Moverman is writing the screenplay with an eye to direct, but the studio hasn’t made that official at this time.