Director Michael Mann and Will Smith (ALI) are set to reteam on the Columbia Pictures drama EMPIRE. The film, written by John Logan (THE AVIATOR), is being kept under wraps but it presumably is not a sequel to EMPIRE RECORDS, EMPIRE OF THE SUN or THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. All that is known is that Smith will play a “global media mogul.” Let’s fasttrack it! Mann has been busy producing films (THE KINGDOM, HANCOCK) and directing Nike commercials but hasn’t yet decided on his next gig behind the camera of a feature. Mann is looking to direct around February of next year after Smith wraps filming on SEVEN POUNDS for director Gabriele Muccino (THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS). Smith can be seen tracking down vampires in this December’s I AM LEGEND and tracking down Charlize Theron in HANCOCK, still the worst titled film in Hollywood.