WAR MAGICIAN
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World helmer Peter Weir is in talks to direct The War Magician, a WWII epic for Paramount and producers Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner.

The Peter Buchman-scripted adaptation of the David Fisher book tells the story of a patriotic British stage magician who volunteered his illusionist abilities to help battle the Nazis. After proving his potential value to skeptical commanders, Maskelyne and a few cohorts were sent to North Africa, where British troops were being pounded by Gen. Rommel.

Maskelyne helped halt Rommel’s charge through a campaign of deception. He camouflaged a key British-occupied harbor by creating a bogus one that bore the brunt of nightly bombing raids; shielded troops in the Suez Canal through a system of anti-aircraft searchlights and mirrors that blinded Nazi pilots; and camouflaged British weaponry and used props to give the appearance of a stronger fighting force.

The film was originally set up as a starring vehicle for Cruise, but he plans to limit himself to producer at this point.

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A New Project

C/W Productions (Cruise/Wagner) has optioned a book about a 1947 industrial accident in Texas City, Texas, which killed 700 and led to the first civil class action suit against the U.S. government, reports Variety. No word if Cruise will star in the big-screen adaptation of City on Fire: The Forgotten Disaster that Devastated a Town and Ignited a Landmark Legal Battle.

Thanks Architect for the news.

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