Lionsgate may be licking their Conan-inflicted wounds, but there are other, rather different franchises out there, and all studio eyes must currently now be on One For the Money**, the trailer for which has just arrived at Yahoo!.
Adapted from the first in the series of ultra-popular romantic detective novels by Janet Evanovich, One For the Money sees Katherine Heigl taking on the role of "incredibly average but heroic if necessary" Stephanie Plum, who picks up a new career as a bounty hunter when she loses her job selling lingerie. She's sort of like Domino Harvey via Bridget Jones.
Plenty of scope for a fun, sexy adventure then, and on the strength of the trailer, it looks as if Grey's Anatomy director Julie Anne Robinson has hit the nail on the head. The plot of the first instalment sees Plum entering the odd world of the bail bondsman, and tracking down a public enemy who also happens to be an old flame from high school.
If One For the Money is a success, there are currently another twenty stories to provide inspiration for follow-ups (seventeen novels in the main series - with Explosive Eighteen due for publication in November - plus another four "in-between" stories). Evanovich's inspiration for the books was the classic Midnight Run, and if One is even half as good as that, all ought to be plain sailing. It's out at the start of next year.