NEW YORK — Jim Sheridan is in talks to come aboard Fox 2000’s adaptation of the Wally Lamb bestseller “I Know This Much Is True.” Pic is seen as a starring vehicle for Matt Damon.
While no deal has been set, we know this much is true: Sheridan and Damon have met about working together on the screen version of the critically acclaimed novel about a house painter who cares for his schizophrenic and destructive twin brother. The book was bought by Fox last summer for seven-figures by exec Elizabeth Gabler, who took it with her when she moved over to head Fox 2000. A script was written by Richard Friedenberg, who scripted “A River Runs Through It,” and it is considered a potential tour de force for a young actor who’d go the Doublemint route and play the lookalikes.
The pic’s being produced by Clinica Estetico’s Jonathan Demme and Ed Saxon, along with Judith Regan, the editor who published the book. Sources said that Sheridan and Damon will work together on an outline and a rewrite, as the script must pass muster before both commit to doing the movie.
Popular on Variety
The CAA-repped Sheridan is already set to direct one bestseller in the Nicholas Sparks novel “The Notebook” at New Line. The helmer last directed Daniel Day-Lewis and Emily Watson in “The Boxer,” and is eager for a followup. The smart betting is that he’ll direct either “The Notebook” or the Lamb book, depending on which crystallizes quickest. Original “Notebook” scribe Jeremy Leven is doing a rewrite on his adaptation for New Line that has also attracted the interest of big stars.