Frank Darabont No Longer Interested in Being ‘Law Abiding’

Posted by Robin Ruinsky (robin@filmschoolrejects.com) on October 13, 2008

The first film from Gerard Butler’s Evil Twins production company has already lost its director. According to Ain’t it Cool News, Frank Darabont has confirmed that he won’t be directing Law Abiding Citizen, the legal thriller that’s set to star Butler (300) as an assistant district attorney targeted by a vigilante.

Darabont made two great prison movies The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, both adapted from Stephen King stories. It was good news to hear that Darabont was set to direct Law Abiding Citizen, which has a screenplay by Kurt Wimmer, The Thomas Crowne Affair.

There’s been speculation the split was because of changes in the screenplay. The shooting version of the story veered sharply away from the original concept of a criminal mastermind who controls a city from his prison cell. The new story describes the inmate as “a man grieving after the murder of his wife and daughter”. It appears the mastermind has been changed into a sympathetic character.

There’s no word yet who will replace Darabont as director, even as the film is poised to start shooting next month in Philadelphia. Jamie Foxx is reported to have signed on to play the grieving father behind bars. Catherine Zeta Jones is still rumored, but unconfirmed as having a role in the film.

Evil Twins is a partnership between Butler and his manager Alan Siegel. Law Abiding Citizen is being produced by Evil Twins along with Wrap films and The Film Department.

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