Scott Derrickson to direct HYPERION CANTOS
I'm not going to blame director Scott Derrickson for THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL debacle, it was a project that was doomed to fail before he jumped on board. He was just the poor cog in the wheel to make some much needed money for Fox. And we know he's not a hack. He did a great job with the horror/drama THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE, he is more than capable of helming a good story with effective atmosphere. Just the huge 20th Century Fox production got too much for him. Which is why I'm surprised to read today that Variety are reporting Derrickson has accepted the offer to direct HYPERION CANTOS, a huge sci-fi project setup at Warner Bros, but we won't knock him for having big ambitions. Setup back in April, Derrickson will direct from a Trevor Sands screenplay that takes Dan Simmon's first two novels in his HYPERION series ("Hyperion" and "The Fall of Hyperion) and turns it into one tentpole movie.
Story is set in the distant future, as a space war threatens Hyperion, a planet known for the Time Tombs -- large artifacts that can move through time and are guarded by a gruesome monster called the Shrike.Derrickson's at a studio who put together the first HARRY POTTER novel and have recently ramped up pre-production on THE HOBBIT. He is with good people here, this one's gonna be a project to keep an eye on.