D.J. Caruso to Adapt BEAT THE REAPER
UPDATE: It looks like DJ Caruso jumped the gun with this announcement today. According to Fox, Caruso has not even met with them about the project, so the idea of it being his next project is far fetched. This could definitely happen, but Caruso will not be directing it as his "next" project.
Director D.J. Caruso (Disturbia) has recently revealed what his next film project will be. While doing the press rounds for I Am Number Four, he said his next film would be an adaptation of the Josh Bazell suspense novel Beat the Reaper for 20th Century Fox.
Leonaro DiCaprio acquired the screen rights to the book through his production company Appian Way a couple of years ago. There's now a possibility the actor could end up starring in the film, which has the potential to be an awesome film!
The story follows "Dr. Peter Brown who is an intern at Manhattan's worst hospital, with a talent for medicine, a shift from hell, and a past he'd prefer to keep hidden. Whether it's a blocked circumflex artery or a plan to land a massive malpractice suit, he knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men. Pietro "Bearclaw" Brnwna is a hitman for the mob, with a genius for violence, a well-earned fear of sharks, and an overly close relationship with the Federal Witness Relocation Program. More likely to leave a trail of dead gangsters than a molecule of evidence, he's the last person you want to see in your hospital room. Nicholas LoBrutto, aka Eddy Squillante, is Dr. Brown's new patient, with three months to live and a very strange idea: that Peter Brown and Pietro Brnwa might-just might-be the same person. Now, with the mob, the government, and death itself descending on the hospital, Peter has to buy time and do whatever it takes to keep his patients, himself, and his last shot at redemption alive. To get through the next eight hours-and somehow beat the reaper."
I'm excited to see how this turns out, but there no doubt it has the potential to be a great movie. What do you all think about Caruso and DiCaprio taking on the film project?
Here's the description of the book:
The Locanos, a mob family, take in 14-year-old Pietro Brwna (pronounced Browna) after a couple of thugs gun down the grandparents who raised him in their New Jersey home. Bent on revenge, Pietro pursues the killers and executes them a year later. Impressed by Pietros performance, David Locano recruits Pietro as a hit man. After more traumas, Pietro tries to make a break from his past by entering the witness protection program. Now known as Peter Brown, he eventually lands a position as a doctor at a decrepit Manhattan hospital, where by chance a former Mafia associate turns up as a patient and threatens to rat him out. The hero’s wry narrative voice, coupled with Bazells artful use of flashbacks to sustain tension and fill in Pietro’s past, are a winning combination.