‘Logan`s Run’ back on track with new director

Los Angeles: ‘Logan`s Run’ might be getting a new pair of legs with Carl Rinsch, who is in talks to direct Warner Bros.` long-in-development sci-fi movie. Rinsch is a huge name in the commercials world who`s been looking to move into features for quite some time. He was to make his debut with the "Alien" prequel before producer Ridley Scott decided he wanted to direct that himself, and is attached to direct ‘47 Ronin’ for Universal, which has been in development for several years. But he firebranded himself into execs` foreheads in April when "The Gift," a short he made for electronics company Philips, zipped around town.

The sci-fi oriented ‘Gift’ blended realistic robots, a Moscow setting, and a city chase and caught the attention of many execs, who wanted to adapt it into a feature. The process for an adaptation was put on pause by Rinsch as he focused on developing the story (the feature project is now called ‘Small’). ‘Logan`s Run’ is best remembered as the 1976 film starring Michael York, Jenny Agutter and Farrah Fawcett, though it was based on a 1967 novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. The premise sees a future society that demands the death of everyone upon reaching a certain age. Anyone who veers from that destiny is dubbed a "runner" and is hunted by operatives known as Sandmen. Logan is a Sandman who is forced to go on the run. The project had been set up at Warners since the mid-`90s but heated up in 2004 when Bryan Singer signed on to develop and direct with an eye toward a 2005 release. Singer had begun previsualization work on the project before he bolted to do ‘Superman Returns’ for the studio. Other directors associated with the project included Robert Schwentke (‘Flightplan’), James McTeigue (‘V For Vendetta’) and Joseph Kosinski (‘Tron Legacy’). ‘Run’ still has a ways to travel before getting to the screen as Warners` next step after Rinsch`s hiring will be to bring on board a writer to pen a new script. Bureau Report