Jonathan Frakes teams with Mickey while John Logan teams with Martin in two new film projects announced today involving the "Star Trek: Nemesis" luminaries.
Frakes is attached to direct and produce a movie picked up by Walt Disney Pictures on Thursday called "Illusion." A suspense thriller described in The Hollywood Reporter as a cross between "The Fugitive" and "F/X," the film is about a master illusionist who, after staging the death of a tycoon, is turned into a desperate fugitive in a world where nothing and no one are as they appear to be. "Illusion" will be produced for Disney by Goepp Circle Productions, the company Frakes runs with his partner Lisa Olin.
For now, though, Frakes is still on the Paramount lot, playing Will Riker in "Star Trek: Nemesis," currently in principal photography. Besides his acting duties, Frakes has also been a prominent director in the Star Trek franchise, helming numerous TV episodes plus "Star Trek: First Contact" and "Star Trek: Insurrection." His latest directorial effort, "Clockstoppers" for Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies, is due in theaters March 29, according to Daily Variety.
Meanwhile, a script about Howard Hughes written by John Logan was strong enough to hook renowned filmmaker Martin Scorsese into directing it. With Leonard DiCaprio attached to play the multi-millionaire aviator and movie mogul (during Hughes' formative years, long before he became a reclusive germophobe), the still-untitled film is expected to go into production this fall, according to Variety.
Logan wrote the screenplay for "Nemesis" that is now being filmed. An Oscar nominee for his work on "Gladiator," he also scripted "The Time Machine," which is scheduled for release in March. The busy Logan is currently writing a biographical epic about Abraham Lincoln to be directed by Steven Spielberg (see related story here.)