Koepp
David Koepp, one of Hollywood's highest-paid screenwriters, has set up his next helming project at Sony.
Koepp, who most recently directed the Ricky Gervais starrer "Ghost Town" for DreamWorks, will helm "Premium Rush" for Columbia Pictures from a screenplay he penned with his frequent collaborator John Kamps.
Gavin Polone ("Zombieland") is producing, marking the fifth project on which he has worked with Koepp.
Story centers on a twentysomething New York City
bike messenger who picks up an envelope at Columbia U. A dirty cop is desperate to get his hands on the envelope and chases the bike messenger throughout the city.
Unlike the modestly budgeted "Ghost Town" -- a $20 million pic -- "Premium Rush" is being conceived as a big-budget actioner, much like the films Koepp is known for penning, and will feature the kind of elaborate chases associated with a William Friedkin pic.
Sony is fast-tracking "Premium Rush" and is looking to cast a leading man soon.
As a scribe, Koepp is known for working on some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters, including "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and "Spider-Man."
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