Dude’s going from one extreme to another. From $100 million tent-poles to micro-budgeted indies…
THR has it that CAPTAIN AMERICA helmer Joe Johnston (above) is in line to direct a new micro-budgeted thriller called NOT SAFE FOR WORK, which is being produced by Jason Blum of Blumhouse Pictures. As you may recall, Blum worked financial wonders with Oren Peli on PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, so he knows how to oversee these types of smaller films.
From writers Adam Mason and Simon Boyes, NSFW centers on a young paralegal who is trapped in the office with a killer on a mission to destroy files for another corporation.
As interesting as that premise sounds, so too will be to see how Johnston will work under a $2.5 million cap. Remember, here’s a guy who made JURASSIC PARK 3, THE WOLFMAN, JUMANJI etc…movies made for 40-50 times that amount. It seems he only knows about the grandiose, which may prove antagonistic come production on NSFW. It’s worth noting that this may not simply be a passion project for Johnston…though he won’t see a tentpole salary, the dude negotiated backend points. So if NSFW is profitable, so too will Johnston.
Alright, so what do we think. We like the idea of Johnston scaling down? Think he was the chops to pull off a small, intimate thriller? Is this the right story for him to do so?
CAPTAIN AMERICA hottie Hayley Atwell