NEW YORK --- George Clooney is being sighted by Universal and Jersey Films to star in "Out of Sight," the adaptation of Elmore Leonard's bestselling novel. Clooney, who just wrapped the Caped Crusader role in "Batman and Robin," will do "Out of Sight" this July, getting $10 million for the role, sources said.
He'll play the charming bank robber Jack Foley, who escapes from prison and takes a female federal marshal hostage. The robber and the marshal fall in love, though both suspect a happy ending is not in the cards, especially since she's part of the manhunt to put him back behind bars.
Screen rights to the novel sold for close to $3 million after Leonard gave an exclusive first look at the novel to Jersey's Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher (Daily Variety, Jan. 24, 1996) because he was so pleased with the job they did on "Get Shorty."
Universal planned to bring back the whole "Shorty" team, with Scott Frank adapting the book and Barry Sonnenfeld directing. Frank has written the script, but Sonnenfeld won't be directing the picture, sources said. The studio has narrowed its sights to a few candidates, and sources said that Steven Soderbergh ("sex, lies, and videotape") has the inside track.
"Out of Sight" is the latest plum part landed by Clooney since he rose to fame in the TV series "ER." He'll next be seen in the Mimi Leder-directed "Peacemaker" for DreamWorks, and opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Joel Schumacher-directed "Batman and Robin."
After signing a multipic deal with "ER" and "Batman" producer Warner Bros., Clooney had to get the blessing of Warners so he could do the U pic.
Clooney is repped by William Morris' Michael Gruber, who's making the deal with Universal chairman Casey Silver, president Marc Platt and exec veep Kevin Misher.
Though "ER" goes on hiatus in March, Clooney's unlikely to take another movie job before starting "Out of Sight." He has been working seven days a week for the past year, bouncing between TV and movie work. Instead, he will concentrate on launching "Batman and Robin."
Late this fall, Clooney will star in Warner Bros.' "Frosty," playing a musician who dies and comes back as the fabled snowman
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