Pitch sale: “The Eighth Wonder”
20th Century Fox plunks down some major coin to nab “The Eighth Wonder, an action-adventure pitch from writer Simon Kinberg:
Details of the plot are being kept under wraps, but the story centers on an archeological discovery that sets off a globe-spanning race. The goal is to create a movie that will be to “Raiders of the Lost Ark” what the “Bourne” movies are to James Bond movies: a character-driven, treasure-hunting thriller.
And who’s set to become the newest action hero? None other than Nicole Kidman:
Kidman and Kinberg met when working on “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” which the scribe wrote and the actress was to have starred in. When she dropped out because of scheduling reasons, the two teamed for an untitled spy thriller for Regency and Fox, with Mark and Jonathan King producing. That project never came to fruition, but Kidman and Kinberg looked for something to work on together. Kinberg cooked up the new idea with Fox, bringing in Kidman and Mark King.