Just as Peter Jackson courted and nurtured Neill Blomkamp’s directorial debut District 9, Dark City helmer Alex Proyas will be doing the same for another young filmmaker. Although he is busy prepping his Paradise Lost adaptation (with Bradley Cooper attached), 24 Frames reports he will produce and godfather the next from Shane Abbess. You may recognize his name, as he was close to directing Source Code, before Moon helmer Duncan Jones made it his second film. With this feature, Abbess will take over a project Peter Berg was once attached to.
Abbess will direct Future Perfect, a father-daughter thriller being compared to Joe Wright‘s Hanna and the classic masterpiece Paper Moon. The film follows “an older man and a young girl, both eugenically created assassins,” who then go on the run. Shot in Australia, the independently financed production will be a “vision-driven” film that will look “bigger” than its modest budget. It certainly does sound quite a bit like District 9‘s parameters.
Perfect is written by Brian McGreevy and Lee Shipman, who are behind the vampire film Harker, which Unknown director Jaume Collet-Serra is circling. They are also working on a post-apocalyptic Zorro reboot. I’m all for this method of letting new filmmakers grow under the guidance of those with experience. With many early-in-the-game directors not having the freedom to do what they desire, it is nice to see a environment like this one being created. In the meantime, check out the trailer for Abbess’ first feature, Gabriel.