Disney, Hynes link up on 'Honest Abe' pitch

Junction Ent. to develop, produce project

By CHARLES LYONS

Turteltaub

In a preemptive mid-six-figure deal, Disney has nabbed the pitch "Honest Abe" from scribe Martin Hynes for on-lot producers Jon Turteltaub and Christina Steinberg's Junction Entertainment to develop and produce. Turteltaub is attached to direct.

Nina Jacobson, president of the Buena Vista Motion Picture Group, brought the project into the studio and will oversee its development.

In the Capra-esque tale, the leaders of a major political party hunt for and find a man they plan to make into a folk hero because of his honesty; the party asks this man to run for president.

Hynes penned the original script "Stealing Stanford" (rewritten by Peter Tolan) for Imagine Entertainment; project is set to go before cameras in March at Revolution Studios, with Bruce McCulloch helming and Tom Green and Jason Lee toplining.

Also for Imagine, the scribe penned a comedic remake of "The Incredibly Shrinking Man." He rewrote "Expiration Date" for Martin Lawrence and wrote, directed and starred in low-budgeter "The Big Split," which screened at the AFI Film Festival. In addition, Hynes starred in the popular short film "George Lucas in Love."

Turteltaub, whose Junction recently reupped for three years at Disney, is in final negotiations to direct the Billy Kelly and Rita Hsiao-penned "Enchanted" at the studio. Pic will be produced by Barry Josephson and Barry Sonnenfeld (Daily Variety, Jan. 16).