EXCLUSIVE: In a last dash pre-holiday deal, Legendary Pictures has closed a high-six figure preemptive acquisition of Pacific Rim, a science fiction film that will be written by Travis Beacham. Beacham was the original writer of Clash of the Titans, the 3D remake which has grossed $475 million worldwide for Legendary and Warner Bros.
Set in a future in which malevolent creatures threaten the earth, the planet must band together and use highly advanced technology to eradicate the growing menace. The deal was made on the basis of a detailed 25-page treatment. Legendary acquired the project under its co-production and co-financing agreement with Warner Bros. The deal was made by the writer’s reps at WME and Anonymous Content.
The picture is envisioned as a tent pole event film, and Thomas Tull’s Legendary is stockpiling those. Legendary co-financed the upcoming Christopher Nolan-directed Inception, and teams with Warner Bros on Nolan’s Batman films and the Superman reboot that Nolan is godfathering. Legendary also made recent deals for the EA game Mass Effect as well as a Godzilla reboot, and has Sam Raimi developing to direct a live action film based on the vidgame World of Warcraft.
Beacham is also working on a large canvas as well. He’s writing 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for Fox and Scott Free, with Timur Bekmambetov attached to direct; and The Black Hole, the remake of the 1979 film that is on a fast track at Disney with Tron Legacy director Joseph Kosinski. Beacham also completed a script for Bad Robot’s JJ Abrams and Bryan Burk to produce. Details are being kept under wraps, but it’s based on an Abrams idea and it is on track to begin production later this year.
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