Talk about living the dream. Tyler Marceca's spec script for The Disciple Program has been one of the hottest in Hollywood for months, but it's quest to becoming a full fledged feature began pretty humbly. Marceca sent the script on a whim to Carson Reeves, an influential script reviewer, who loved it and made sure to draw some serious attention to the amateur draft by putting it in his top 25. Soon, the studios came calling, numbering in the hundreds, with Warner Brothers trying to hook up Bradley Cooper to the project at one point. But due to some savvy maneuvering and an intense bidding war, the script has now ended up at Universal with an impressive star and director ready to roll on it.
Mark Wahlberg will be adding the film to his already heft schedule, both starring and producing the film about a man investigating his wife's mysterious death, only to discover she led a secret life that went deeper than he ever imagined. Pretty vague description, so there must be something really amazing to have drawn so many eyes towards the project. Wahlberg managed to lure in Morten Tyldum(Headhunters) to direct, expressing a desire to work with the Norwegian filmmaker. The two have since taken a pass at Marceca's script, adding some new elements including a big action set piece.
So this must be like a fantasy for Marceca, having one of the bankable actors in the world attached to his film. Hopefully all the fuss was worth it. Wahlberg will be seen next in Ted, the live-action/CGI comedy featuring Seth MacFarlane and Mila Kunis. [Deadline]
