You liked GONE BABY GONE? How does a Sam Raimi directed Dennis Lehane novel sound to you?

Again, Sam Raimi is attaching himself to everything but Spider-Man 4. At least his fifth or sixth new project since his last movie, Variety say the talented visual helmer has signed on to direct THE GIVEN DAY - an adaptation of a Dennis Lehane novel which reunites him with Columbia Pictures. Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone and the upcoming Martin Scorsese film Shutter Island are all based on Lehane's crime writings. The Given Day, his latest novel won't be published until September.

"The Given Day" is set in 1919 Boston, with the city in turmoil as soldiers are returning home from WWI, having brought back an epidemic of Spanish influenza. Attempts to unionize the police department have set the stage for a historic strike and two cops take center stage.

Raimi says...

"While it deals with many of the same themes as (Lehane's) earlier work, it is also his most ambitious book, tying events of a century ago to the subjects we struggle with today," Raimi said.

Cool. Both Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone are two of the best crime movies of this decade, Lehane seems to touch on characters and a gritty side of the world that we haven't seen in the movies since the 70's with the works of Brian De Palma and William Freidkin. They feel cinematic and it's no wonder they have attracted such great directing talent. This could be Raimi's most grown up movie yet but I couldn't possibly chose between this, a new Jack Ryan film and The Shadow as which project I would love to see him direct after Drag Me to Hell. Notice Spidey 4 is not on that list.