Michael Fleming of Variety:
Fox Searchlight and New Regency will co-finance "The Night Watchman," a James Ellroy-scripted drama that will star Keanu Reeves.
David Ayer has been set to direct after he does a rewrite. Production begins April 30.
Greenlight ends a decade-long quest by producers Alexandra Milchan, Lucas Foster and Erwin Stoff to get the film made. While helmers like David Fincher, Spike Lee and Oliver Stone circled it, as well as stars such as Reeves and Sean Penn, the project never made it to the starting gate.
The drama has evolved since "L.A. Confidential" author Ellroy set the LAPD tale right after the O.J. Simpson verdict and the L.A. riots. Reeves plays a cop who's always done what was needed to solve homicides and crack down on gang violence until he gets a wake up call and decides he can no longer play the game that made him so effective.
Project turned a corner when it recently moved from Paramount to Fox Searchlight/New Regency and Ayer surfaced as its director. The writer of "Training Day" made his transition to filmmaker with "Harsh Times," and he was so determined to prove himself with that gritty drama that he initially self-financed it.
Other than last summer's romantic flick The Lake House, Keanu Reeves has pretty much stayed in the sci-fi zone for the last few years. At least as far as his starring roles are concerned. As a dramatic leading man Reeves has had a spotty track record anyway. It will be interesting to see how he does with a Ellroy script behind him
As for David Ayer, his script for Training Day (2001) was amazing Harsh Times was a much better film than some folks gave it credit for. While his screenplay for The Fast and the Furious helped to make this guilty pleasure speed to victory. Given Ayer's knack for stories about L.A. he should be able to pull this one off.
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