Looks like Gus Van Sant has signed the killer notebook. His fate: to direct the Death Note live-action film.
Gus Van Sant has signed on to direct Death Note, a live-action film adaptation of the hit manga and anime series from Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. While this is not the first time the work is being adapted into a live-action film (there are two movies in Japan), this is the first American adaptation.
Death Noteis about a high schooler who finds a mysterious notebook that kills people as soon as he writes their names down. As more and more students die, an FBI agent is put on the case. He must track down the student and the evil notebook before a massacre happens.
Produced by Vertigo Entertainment, Witten Pictures, and Lin Pictures, Van Sant replaces director Shane Black, whose most recent work is Iron Man 3. Black will leave Death Note to work on Doc Savage and a new Predator sequel. Black, Anthony Bagarozzi, and Charles Mondry -- who are working together on Doc Savage-- worked on the most recent draft of the script.
While Van Sant will undoubtedly be remembered for his work on Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester, and Milk, he has directed the violent high school drama before. His minimalist take on the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, Elephant, captures the lives of the students as they approach their horrible fates. Van Sant will once again step into some very dark territory.
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