Hugh Jackman is set to play Houdini on Broadway in a few years and we all expect him to make an accompanying movie at some point, but according to The Hollywood Reporter he could have a competing project on his hands. The trades say Summit Entertainment have acquired the rights to the controversial 2006 biography The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero written by William Kalush and Larry Sloman and have plans to turn Houdini's story into an action thriller movie. This won't just be a movie about an escape-artist, but a movie about a British government spy. According to their biography, Houdini was a secret agent, not unlike James Bond, and part Indiana Jones/part Sherlock Holmes. The book also go with the controversial reading that Houdini's death was caused by spiritualists revenge, because of the openly blatant attempts by Houdini to denounce con-merchants. Usually at this point (there have been many pick-up's of Houdini's biographies only for most of them not to be made, or if by some miracle they do they turn out ridiculous like Death Defying Acts) I would say something along the lines of, it's baffling to me how someone with the life of Houdini hasn't had a good movie made of his life yet. But the whole pick-up of this book sounds like manipulation to try and get a new franchise out a controversial idea. For Summit to make their own version of a Bond franchise by possibly using alternative, probably factual history to fuel their money making potential. The search is on for a writer.