After recently reporting that the upcoming action movie Kane & Lynch was short a director; after the originally hired director, Simon Crane (a former stunt coordinator), left the project due to creative differences with the studio; there has been a hurried search to find a replacement, and at the moment, F. Gary Gray (the man behind the 2003 remake of The Italian Job) looks to be the most likely candidate.
However, while he’s currently in the lead, a deal has yet to be signed, and as such his involvement is still less than a certainty; but it does appear much more likely to be happening than either Wayne Kramer (Crossing Over), or Roger Donaldson (The Bank Job) (his competitors for the position), taking on the role; and it’s seems like gray would be a wise choice, as his work on action hits such as The Italian Job (2003), and The Negotiator, show that he’s more than proficient in shooting the stunt heavy scenes that are bound to be the major focus of Kane & Lynch.
And while it’s Bruce Willis (Surrogates); who’s attached to play the death row inmate Adam Kane Marcus, who gets broken out of prison along with the schizophrenic, psychopathic, killer James Lynch (who will be played by The Soloist’s Jamie Foxx), in order to track down a stolen bounty for a criminal gang who have kidnapped his wife and daughter; who has been the driving force behind the attempt at finding a new director, it wouldn’t be surprising if Jamie Foxx was influential in pushing Gray’s name towards the top of the pile, as the two recently worked together on Law Abiding Citizen, and he’s already well aware of Gray’s ability to handle the genre.
All the indicators suggest that a deal is imminent, and as Bruce Willis and Lionsgate are so desperate to find a director and begin filming as soon as possible, if Gray decides not to sign on, then another candidate will likely hop into the position, and begin shooting almost immediately, or at least that’s the plan over at Lionsgate.
