Steven Spielberg’s favourite screenwriter of the moment David Koepp (who really ought to be keeping his mind focused on the pages for Indy 4, but he’s a very talented guy so we’ll let him off) is turning his attention to directing. And it’s not what you might think – some kind of white knuckle, claustrophobic thriller, or a heavy character piece. No, it’s a comedy with a supernatural flavour; Ghost Town now has two name actors.
Greg Kinnear and Ricky Gervais have both signed on to be a part of the story, about a man who briefly dies during surgry – dental surgery – and when he comes back, finds not only can he see the dead, but they’re queuing up to have him contact the living on their behalf. It’s not been mentioned who is playing who yet, but an educated hunch gives us the feeling that Kinnear will be the victim of the oral surgeon’s malpractice, and Gervais would probably be the dentist. Which, knowing the comedian’s distaste for taking large roles in live action movies, will probably involve not so much screen time. Hey, never leave them wanting less, and all that.
The pitch for this idea was originally purchased by DreamWorks (of course) two years ago this month. They must be happy with the expansion of the idea (for which they paid $2 million), because they’re looking to start shooting in October. And don’t worry Indy fans, David’s involvement in that project will be well over by then.