HOLLYWOOD NEWS

October 3, 2007–Fox 2000 has acquired rights to remake the British miniseries “The Jury,” with Marc Forster directing and Beau Willimon writing the script.

The 2002 mini-series, scripted by Peter Morgan and directed by Pete Travis, revolved around the trial of a young Sikh student charged with killing a classmate tormenter. The drama depicted the lives of the jurors as they moved toward a verdict.

The movie will be produced by Forster, his Apparatus partner Brad Simpson, Management 360's Guymon Casady and Quentin Curtis. Exec producer is Rob Green of Granada, which owned the underlying rights.

Forster enlisted Willimon to write the script after reading his play, “Farragut North.”

“The Jury” is the latest British series to finds its way to a major studio for screen treatment. Soderbergh's “Traffic” was based on one, and Universal's “State of Play” is a drama based on the Paul Abbott-scripted mini. Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren and Robin Wright Penn will star for director Kevin Macdonald.

Forster, whose film “The Kite Runner” opens November 2, is preparing to next direct the 22nd James Bond film with Daniel Craig.