Last year, perhaps the indie hit of the summer came from director Joe Cornish and his British sci-fi alien invasion film Attack The Block. Praised for its humor, action, practical effects, and even interesting premise, Cornish’s directorial debut has certainly won over both critics and audiences for years to come. Since last year, Cornish has become attached to plenty of projects that he could easily take on as his follow-up for his next big screen venture. Finally, the director has decided to pursue another sci-fi/action combo that should please plenty of fans as he’s ready to tackle an international best seller.
Deadline reports that Cornish has commit himself to write and direct an adaptation of the Neal Stephenson novel Snow Crash. Published in 1992, a film version has been in the works for nearly 16 years, with Paramount originally winning the rights until they switched hands over to Disney. Though Walt Disney Pictures tried to develop the film, the rights eventually wound up back at Paramount and with Cornish highly committed to the film the project is now considered a priority for the studio.
The article describes the novel:
The book is set in the near future, when the U.S. exists as a patchwork of corporate-franchise city-states, and private enterprise and the mafia control everything. The plot involves a computer virus that is manifested as a drug called Snow Crash that is transmitted visually from computer screens to unsuspecting users, frying their brains. Hiro Protagonist – that’s the character’s name – a computer hacker/samurai swordsman/pizza delivery driver who investigates and tries to stop the takeover of postmodern civilization. It sounds wild, but it is steeped in its own mythology and has become a cult favorite among the cyberpunk set.
Amazon expands upon the quick log line as it details more of aTron like vibe:
In reality, Hiro Protagonist delivers pizza for Uncle Enzo’s CosoNostra Pizza Inc., but in the Metaverse he’s a warrior prince. Plunging headlong into the enigma of a new computer virus that’s striking down hackers everywhere, he races along the neon-lit streets on a search-and-destroy mission for the shadowy virtual villain threatening to bring about infocalypse.
Action packed and futuristic vibe with a bit of a mysterious investigation that dips into the tech pool? It certainly sounds like quite the playground that Cornish can truly bring his vision to life in as his budget expands to an undoubtedly high number. Cornish will be working with producer Kathleen Kennedy on the project, as Kennedy introduced him to the novel and it became a passion project for the creative mind. Kennedy is famous for being Steven Spielberg’s partner, co-founding production company Amblin Entertainment, and is the second most successful producer in film history.
There’s no indication as to when the film would begin to shoot, but it could easily begin filming sometime late next year.
