J.C. Chandor to Direct 'Deepwater Horizon'; Darren Lynn Bousman Helms 'Apex'

J.C. Chandor's last film, the deep sea survival film All is Lost, may have been left out of the Best Picture race and its star Robert Redford out of the Best Actor category (unjustly in both cases) but he's still one of the most promising directors around. He burst on the scene with financial world thriller Margin Call, with his screenplay earning an Oscar nom, and his next project A Most Violent Year is looking like a contender for this fall. And now Chandor is hitting the waters one more time for a hot button film on the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

Chandor is set to direct Deepwater Horizon, which as you probably guessed has to do with the 2010 oil rig explosion that killed eleven workers and was one of the worst spills in United States history, causing environmental damage still felt today. The New York Times' Christmas 2010 article by David Barstow, David Rhode, and Stephanie Sau will serve as the basis for the story, with Matthew Michael Carnahan (World War Z) providing the most script. Although not mentioned it would be surprising if Chandor doesn't take a crack at rewriting it. The film won't go into all of the behind-the-scenes politics (like Halliburton's involvement) of the disaster but will center on the 100 employees on the rig when it exploded. If all comes together Chandor will begin shooting this winter. Summit Entertainment has been developing this project for awhile, once eying Ric Roman Waugh (Snitch) as director.  [Deadline]

And on to something completely different, horror director Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II, Mother's Day) will take the helm for Apex, a sci-fi action flick some are saying is like Predator meets Call of Duty. Penned by James E. Cavanaugh, the story centers on a Special Ops unit sent in to disarm a WMD from North Korea and are transported to another world. There they are pitted against a dangerous alien threat. [THR]