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| Daniel Espinosa |
Daniel Espinosa, who had a box office hit earlier this year
with his English-language feature debut, Safe House, is in talks to direct
Child 44 for Lionsgate/Summit, Deadline reports. In development since before
the novel was even published in 2008, the film will adapt Tom Rob Smith's work,
officially described as follows:
“Stalin's Soviet Union strives to be a paradise for its
workers, providing for all of their needs. One of its fundamental pillars is
that its citizens live free from the fear of ordinary crime and criminals.
But in this society, millions do live in fear . . . of the
State. Death is a whisper away. The mere suspicion of ideological
disloyalty-owning a book from the decadent West, the wrong word at the wrong
time-sends millions of innocents into the Gulags or to their executions.
Defending the system from its citizens is the MGB, the State Security Force.
And no MGB officer is more courageous, conscientious, or idealistic than Leo
Demidov.
A war hero with a beautiful wife, Leo lives in relative
luxury in Moscow, even providing a decent apartment for his parents. His only
ambition has been to serve his country. For this greater good, he has arrested
and interrogated.
Then the impossible happens. A different kind of criminal-a
murderer-is on the loose, killing at will. At the same time, Leo finds himself
demoted and denounced by his enemies, his world turned upside down, and every
belief he's ever held shattered. The only way to save his life and the lives of
his family is to uncover this criminal. But in a society that is officially
paradise, it's a crime against the State to suggest that a murderer-much less a
serial killer-is in their midst. Exiled from his home, with only his wife,
Raisa, remaining at his side, Leo must confront the vast resources and reach of
the MBG to find and stop a criminal that the State won't admit even exists.”
Scott Free will produce the film adaptation with an adapted
screenplay by Richard Price.
