EXCLUSIVE: Jason Bateman is set to direct The Pinkerton, a supernatural revenge-western hybrid that Warner Bros. and JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot acquired two years ago. Pic was sold as a spec by F9’s Daniel Casey.
It was the first original film project for Bad Robot since Warner Bros signed a big deal with the producer. Batmen and Michael Costigan will join Bad Robot’s Abrams and Hannah Minghella as producers.
The Pinkertons were a private security guard and detective agency established in the U.S. by Scotsman Allan Pinkerton in 1850. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired Pinkerton agents for his personal security during the Civil War.
Bateman made his directing debut on Bad Words and followed with The Family Fang, and won an Emmy and two SAG Awards for directing episodes of Ozark, to go with the two Emmys he won for Best Actor on that superb series.
He’s repped by CAA and Lighthouse.
