Tradecraft: The Ludlum Connection... To Taken

Well, this isn't a spy movie per se, but the story involves the cool convergence of two of the of the biggest names in contemporary spy movies (box office-wise, at least): Variety reports that Captivate Entertainment (the company behind the Bourne films, formerly Ludlum Entertainment) will team up with Taken director Pierre Morel. The film, Pursuit, isn't a spy story, but the trade promises that it is "in the same elevated action-thriller genre" as the Robert Ludlum thrillers in Captivate's library. Apparently the company is eager to build their brand beyond Ludlum's novels with original properties in the a similar vein. Which is awesome! I just wish they'd require that all their films have Ludlumesque titles. All you have to do is add a name before "Pursuit!" Since the project is "based on the early career of conflict photographer Jason Howe, who fell in love with a woman while on assignment in Colombia, only to discover she was an assassin," you just call it "The Howe Pursuit!" Hm, maybe not quite the right syllabic ring. In any case, the director of Taken (and one of the key movers and shakers in the neo-Eurospy genre) is a good match for the rights holders of the Ludlum library.

The story concludes with a snippet on Taken 2: "Morel said that he and Luc Besson are taking their time trying to come up with a sequel to Taken, which became a surprise hit earlier this year."