Remember that rich kid at Paramount, David Ellison, who suddenly made the studio his little movie making machine? After closing deals to back Mission: Impossible IV and develop the reported Top Gun sequel, now comes word that he’s creating a fresh franchise for the newly rendered property-slim studio. Vulture reports that Paramount and Ellison’s Skydance Productions have hired Shawn Ryan to adapt Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse.
For those of you (like me) unfamiliar with Clancy’s canon and the novel, let me quickly sum up what happens: a rich smart guy starts working for the CIA, becomes President and threatens everyone in the world (thanks Wikipedia!). Anyway, Without Remorse is the first book in the chronology of the “Ryanverse” and takes place during the Vietnam War in Baltimore. Though this doesn’t mean the movie will take place in Baltimore, or during the Vietnam War, or have anything to do with the novel. Paramount’s revamp of the Jack Ryan series (Without Remorse follows John Kelly, and by the way, Tom Clancy, way to pick original names) won’t even follow a Clancy novel. So if you like spies, the CIA, espionage, counter intelligence and the likes, this movie should be for you.
The inclusion of Shawn Ryan gives me hope, and having wunderkind producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci on board doesn’t hurt either. Ryan created The Shield and Terriers, which he is currently working on for FX. Both shows have gotten good reviews and are top-notch television. If he can bring that level of prestige to this movie I might have to shell out the money to see it. Actually, probably not. I’ll just wait for its inevitable marathon on TNT some Saturday afternoon.
Source: NY Magazine
