Fresh from trying to count the Dark Knight's takings and having to give up at a gajillion, producer Charles Roven has announced plans to adapt political thriller Damascus Gate for Sony and bring a big helping of Middle Eastern intrigue to our screens.
Damascus Gate, a 1998 novel by Robert Stone, follows journalist Christopher Lucas into the colourful heart of Jerusalem, where he stumbles upon an extremist plot to sabotage the peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians. The titular gate is part of Jerusalem's old city walls, originally built by Suleiman The Magnificent.
We've got fingers crossed Damascus Gate will deliver a suitably byzantine thriller, following in the footsteps of the two recent book adaptations to delve into the murky world of Middle Eastern politics, ex-CIA agent Bob Baer's See No Evil (Syriana) and Washington Post journo Rajiv Chandrasekaran's Imperial Life In The Emerald City (the upcoming Green Zone).
The source material certainly looks promising: the Jerusalem of Damascus Gate is a world of fanatics, relief workers, arms dealers, nightclub impresarios, former Communists, drug pushers, and, with any luck, the odd member of The People's Front of Judea.
Damascus Gate reunites Roven with Eric Warren Singer who will write the script - the two collaborated on Tom Tykwer's upcoming The International.