Vince Vaughn really does seem to be on an action kick of late, at least as regards the projects he picks up to develop. A few days ago, he nabbed Randall Wallace’s Gunslingers script, and he’s now followed up by acquiring the rights to Ridley Pearson’s thriller novel The Risk Agent.
Using his Wild West Picture Show Productions company, Vaughn splashed the cash to buy the book, and he’s intending to develop it for Universal, where he has a deal.
The Risk Agent is set in China, and finds a Chinese national snatched from the streets of Shanghai along with his one-man security detail. Since they worked for an American construction company, the suits put a call in to hostage extraction company Rutherford Risk. Though private eyes are illegal in the country, the team sends in forensic accountant Grace Chu and culturally trained tactical specialist John Knox (the role we assume Vaughn will take). The two couldn’t be more different but – guess what! – they must overcome their issues before the clock runs out on the hostages.
There’s no word on when the eventual movie might arrive, but Michael Lerner is already aboard to write the script.
Vaughn, who is shooting The Internship with director Shawn Levy, will next be on our screens in The Watch, which lands on August 24, and you can see him in that in this morning's latest trailer.