Eric Bana Reaches A Higher "Echelon"

In March of this year, it was announced by Variety that Hyde Park Entertainment had picked up the rights to Andy McNab’s 12-novel espionage series based around the character Nick Stone. It was only a matter of time before the company would cast its leading man.

According to Pajiba, Australian hunk Eric Bana will play the lead character of Stone in "Echelon," a film adaptation of McNab's espionage novel "Firewall."

The film will follow the ex-SAS grunt as he attempts to prevent a terrorist organization from accessing the world’s largest computer intelligence database.

In the book, the third of 12, Stone is hired to kidnap a Russian mafia warlord and deliver him to St. Petersburg. When he arrives, he soon finds himself raiding a house in the cold wastes of Estonia, where Russia has launched an online offensive to tap into the West's military secrets--secrets the Russians, the Americans, the Brits and rival mafia gangs all want to get their hands on.

The script comes from John Connor, who is also a producer on the project. Aside from creating an awesomely badass character in Nick Stone, author McNab is quite a fascinating character himself. He was (not surprisingly) an SAS officer himself and also was the weapons coordinator on Michael Mann's film "Heat."

Adding even more to his resume, McNab also was the most highly decorated British soldier of the Gulf War, after he commanded the Bravo Two Zero operation and was held and tortured by Iraqi soldiers for six weeks.

Oh, and by the way, adding even more bassassness (is that even a word?) to the author is that Andy McNab is not even his real name. For security reasons it had to be changed but that hasn't stopped him from turning his novels into a Hollywood franchise.

Ever since I saw Bana play a tough-as-nails soldier in "Black Hawk Down," I was a fan. I think he will be perfect in the role of Stone--he has the right pedigree, attitude and screen presence to take on the persona. Bana's upcoming slate is looking pretty good with the actor wrapping up Joe Wright's "Hanna" as well as the upcoming "The Emperor's Children."

There is no start date as of yet for "Echelon," but that could change soon once a director comes on board.

“Taken” to Get A Sequel?

Liam Neeson says a sequel to his surprise hit revenge thriller "Taken" could be in the works.

The actor tells MTV News that he and writer/producer Luc Besson have discussed ideas for a possible follow-up, but nothing is set in stone quite yet.

Said Neeson: "It is hard to get a plot that's going to be believable.” Later this month, he added that he and Besson are "going to sit down and see if we can hash it out."

The low-budget film was released in mid-2008 internationally and in January last year in the U.S. Not only did it get decent reviews, it ended up taking $226 million globally.

I loved “Taken.” I thought Neeson was fantastic, but even more than that, I left the theater feeling satisfied. Sure, it wasn’t the best ‘film’ I've ever seen, it didn’t win any awards, but it did come through with allowing me to be entertained. Hopefully, if they do come out with a sequel, it will be just as good as the first.

The "24" Film Makes Some Progress

Twentieth Century Fox's film and TV studios are conspiring to finally bring hit television series "24" to the bigscreen, reports Variety.

According to Variety: Billy Ray ("Shattered Glass," "Breach") has been hired to pen the script for a potential feature film based on hit Fox series "24."

Ray delivered a pitch, which puts Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) in Europe. Sutherland himself was key to bringing in Ray's cinematic take on the series.

The catch, of course, is when it would happen as various factors--most notably the fate of the TV series, which currently is one-third of the way through airing its eighth season--will determine when any action takes place on the film.

Fox toppers Peter Rice and Kevin Reilly will likely want to see how the show performs over the next few weeks before deciding whether to commit to another season of Bauer racing the clock.

The allure of spinning a popular TV series into a bigscreen film is hard to ignore for studio execs, since there is a built-in audience. Also, "24" has also been a mammoth hit for the studio in foreign markets, which suggests that a feature adaptation would travel well.

“24” has been one of my favorite shows on television since the day it first aired, and Kiefer Sutherland has been one of the best actors on television during that time. The transition to film should be easy for Jack Bauer and friends, and frankly, it’s about damn time.

Producers have long planned to bring Bauer to the big screen and originally intended to shoot a film between the sixth and seventh seasons. Plans were later deferred to allow producers to focus on the series. A TV movie, "24: Redemption," aired in 2008.

A decision is needed soon--a source close to the show said the producers are preparing to write the 23rd and 24th episodes of the current season, so they need to know whether to pen a series finale. Production on the drama is scheduled to wrap March 24, 2010.

The thought of a "24" movie always has been an exciting thought for me, but the fact that Billy Ray has been brought on to write the script makes me excited for this on another level. I think “Shattered Glass” is a fantastically underrated and well-written film, and “Breach” was also an excellent piece of filmmaking. He is the perfect choice for this film.

I also think it is important to note that Sutherland himself was key to bringing in Ray onto the film. With a franchise like “24,” the lead actor is so important, and the fact that Sutherland will be involved as a producer makes me think that the “24” film adaptation will be a good one.

“24” airs Monday nights at 9 p.m. on Fox.