Final Round?

A director for that Matt Damon/Mark Wahlberg boxing movie may be officially announced very soon...And the guy in the thick of it--is a surprise--when you consider his previous films.

Pamela McClintock and Michael Fleming of Variety:

Darren Aronofsky [pictured] is in talks to direct Mark Wahlberg and Matt Damon in boxing drama "The Fighter" for Paramount Pictures.

"In Talks"

Pic would mark Aronofsky's studio project. Sci-fi romancer "The Fountain" fell flat at the box office when Warner Bros. Pictures released it fall.

Project is based on the rise of Boston boxer "Irish" Micky Ward, who nabbed the world lightweight title with the help of his once down-and-out half-brother Dicky, who became a trainer.

While Par would look for Aronofsky to turn in a pic with broad appeal, he isn't necessarily expected to take a traditional approach...

Wahlberg and Damon are ready to commit to making "Fighter" their next movie if they like a rewrite that scribe Paul Attanasio is doing.

If the two thesps give their OK, lensing could begin in early summer in Massachusetts.

Attanasio, who will focus on the themes of brotherhood and redemption, is rewriting a draft by , Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy.

Attanasio recently adapted John Steinbeck 's "East of Eden" for Imagine.

Aronofsky's other directing credits are "Requiem for a Dream" and "Pi"

While I enjoyed Pi and "Requiem", and did not see "Fountain", Aronofsky would indeed seem an unlikely choice for "Fighter" That said, this is his chance to break out and increase his appeal beyond his core of followers...