Rupert Wyatt is in negotiations to direct a remake of the 1974 pic “The Gambler” for Paramount, with Mark Wahlberg also in early talks to star.
They would replace Todd Phillips and Leonardo DiCaprio, who was attached to direct the film but due to the film’s long development fell off the project. Leonardo DiCaprio was also once attached to the project but sources say he is also no longer involved.
It is still very early on in the deal-making process and Wyatt does still have an option on an untitled film at Fox that he may still take but as of now negotiations are under way.
In the 1974 pic, a literature professor with a gambling problem runs into trouble with some local gangsters. William Monahan penned the script and Irwin Winkler will produce.
While losing Phillips and Di Caprio was tough, Paramount looks to have come out just fine landing Wyatt and Wahlberg, if a deal makes.
Paramount continues to have a strong relationship with Wahlberg who recently starred for them in “Pain and Gain” and is currently filming the next installment of the “Transformers” franchise, “Transformers: Age of Extinction” for the studio.
Wyatt has been a director on the prowl for his next project after guiding Fox’s “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” to stellar reviews and a big win at the box office. Wyatt took himself off the the sequel “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” because he didn’t want to rush the production and has since been on the look.
Wyatt and Wahlberg are repped by WME.
