After back-to-back acting stints in the television space with Netflix's "Black Rabbit" (co-starring Jude Law) and HBO's "DTF St. Louis" (with David Harbour), Jason Bateman is getting back to full-fledged movie direction (he directed two episodes of the former, with his “Ozark” co-star Laura Linney also directing).
The first is a dark comedy, "The Cackling of the Dodos", with Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell, and the second is an adaptation of John Grisham's legal drama "The Partner", which was announced last year. Confirming his involvement in the latter, Bateman offered entertainment portal Deadline a tease of what the approach will be.
“What does it look like today? What’s the combination between, say, Jason Bourne and Bond and Michael Clayton, and what does that kind of stew look like?" he said, while adding it was Tom Holland who brought the project to him first. "Tom is going to be a great partner throughout. He brought it our way, and so I’m looking forward to collaborating with him.”
As for "The Cackling of the Dodos", Bateman revealed that it's about two farmers who stumble upon a body in a grain bin. “They are two of my favourites, and the fact that they called me to direct them in this was just kind of a mind-blower for me,” he added.
So far, there have been exactly 14 major screen adaptations of John Grisham's works, comprising ten feature films, three television series and one original screenplay. The adaptations span legal thrillers, sports movies, a Christmas comedy, and documentaries.
