It's been a long time since we've had one of John Grisham's many novels brought to the big screen. Well, a long time since we had a good one, anyway. The writer of so many great works of legal fiction like The Client and The Rainmaker, hasn't had a film adapted since 2004, and that unfortunately was Christmas with the Kranks. Seriously. But if Mark Wahlberg has his way, that could all be about to change.
Wahlberg is in early talks to produce and star in The Partner, based on Grisham's 1997 novel, and it's the author back doing what he does best which is exploring behind the courtroom shenanigans. The story follows Patrick Lanigan, a partner at a law firm in Biloxi, who fakes his own death then goes on the run with $90M stolen from the firm's offshore account. They don't take it too kindly.
A writer and director still needs to be found, as John Lee Hancock(The Blind Side) had been attached but is now busy with his Mary Poppins film, Saving Mr. Banks.
The reason why we don't see Grisham movies anymore is that people started to grow tired of movies about lawyers and shady deals and all that jazz. All of his films started to look the same, and the final straw was 2003's Runaway Jury, which was solid but not especially memorable. Wahlberg may be the guy to turn things around, though, as he's found remarkable success as a producer in the past. [Variety]
