Doug Liman in Early Negotiations to Direct ‘Cannonball Run’ Remake

By Dave McNary

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Action specialist Doug Liman is in early negotiations to direct a remake of “The Cannonball Run” for Warner Bros.

Jesse Ehrman and Paul Perez are overseeing the project for the studio. Warner Bros. was negotiating last year with “Central Intelligence” director Rawson Thurber to helm a reboot of the “Cannonball Run” franchise and “Reno 911” stars Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant were in talks to write the script. Andre Morgan and Alan Gasmer are producing the movie.

The original franchise starred Burt Reynolds, Frank Sinatra, Roger Moore, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dom DeLuise. The films centered on an illegal cross-country race where the participants played dirty tricks on one another.

The series produced three films, with the first, “The Cannonball Run,” released in 1981 by Fox with an impressive $72 million in box office. Warner Bros. acquired all sequel and remake rights to the franchise from original copyright owners Brock Yates, the Hal Needham Estate, and Fortune Star LTD, then produced “The Cannonball Run II” in 1984.

Liman’s credits include “The Bourne Identity,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” “Jumper,” “Fair Game,” “Edge of Tomorrow,” and the upcoming “Chaos Walking.” He’s repped by CAA and Weintraub Tobin Chediak Coleman Grodin. The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.