The Parker movie–what we know

There’s been a lot of news about the upcoming Parker movie over the past couple of months. I’ve broken a little of it here, but most of it I get the same way everyone else does–through (sometimes conflicting) press accounts. Now I see everything (well, most things) written about it because it’s my job, but I understand that not all of you read every blog post and follow every link on the Twitter feed, so I thought now might be a good time to drum up a summary post on The Saga Thus Far.

Here is what we know:

  • The movie will be called Parker. The character will, for the first time on film, be called “Parker.” Movie titles are always subject to change, of course, but for now, it’s called Parker.
  • The movie will be based on Flashfire.
  • It is promised that the filmmakers are trying to hew close to the literary character.
  • Jason Statham is set to star.
  • Michael (“The Shield”) Chiklis is set to play the antagonist.
  • Taylor (Ray) Hackford is the director.
  • Jennifer Lopez is in talks to play the main female character, Lesley.
  • Also cast are Wendell Pierce and Clifton Collins Jr.
  • It is written by John McLaughlin, who wrote the screenplay for Black Swan.
  • It will be filmed in New Orleans. Shooting is scheduled to begin July 18th, for seven weeks.
  • Parker will be distributed in the US by FilmDistrict.

And I believe that’s all we know. If you know anything of interest that you would like to share, feel free to contact me via the link in the right sidebar.

Reported but not confirmed:Word is that the…script jumps off from a number of Stark’s novels to create a new story. The debut novel The Hunter (’62) and later novel Flashfire (’00) are said to be part of the ingredient list.” Hard to know what to make of this. It doesn’t jibe with what I’ve heard. My guess is that Flashfire is far and away the primary source, and maybe elements of other novels are used to fill in a little backstory. Or it could all just be horsefeathers.

For the record, I’ll be avoiding spoilers at this site. This is for your sake, dear readers, but also for mine–I want to come at the movie just as fresh as any other fan. If I come across a leaked script, I won’t be reading it until long after the movie is in theaters, and I’ll be trying to avoid reading articles or blog posts that seem likely to give things away. So have no fear when you visit here!