'Dance' partner plots at Par

Makowski, Callaham sign on for untitled drama

By MICHAEL FLEMING

Makowski

Paramount Pictures has acquired an untitled action drama to be written by Dave Callaham and directed by Max Makowski. Makowski recently directed the crime drama "One Last Dance," which made its debut at Sundance. Lorenzo di Bonaventura will produce.

Noir-style Par project begins with the murder of a mob boss. His current and former bodyguards unite to avenge his death.

Studio deal is Makowski's first after he made a splash at Sundance and Cannes with "One Last Dance," a Singapore-set crime thriller shot in Cantonese. That film was also revenge-oriented, as a mob boss hires a hit man to recover his son and kill those who kidnapped him.

Makowski is based in Hong Kong, where he has launched Film Orient, a venture that will provide production services in Asia, including the management of artists and the representation of remake rights to Asian films. Makowski just signed with UTA.

Callaham, whose first script "Horsemen" is being prepped by Mandate for a 2007 production start, is already in business with di Bonaventura, who hired Callaham to script a movie version of the videogame "Doom." Callaham is also scripting the dramas "Station" for Universal and "Barrow" for Warner Bros.