Reacher rambles in

Author Lee Child’s roving ex-army cop Jack Reacher (how come tough guys are never named Stanley or Purvis?) has seen plenty of novelized adventures, but he’s somehow never made it to the big screen despite several attempts.

That might finally change now that Paramount has put screenwriter Josh Olson (A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE) to work adapting Child’s book ONE SHOT. The story finds the long-running thriller series’ reticent hard-hitting hero investigating a former Gulf War sniper accused of killing several seemingly random civilians, and finding himself deciphering a puzzle that involves the Russian Mafia. The book was initially set up with Tom Cruise producing, which may still be the case.

As for what attracted Olson to the project, he says: “I had just finished watching the first two Dirty Harry movies on Blu-ray, and I thought, ‘No one’s making movies like that anymore.'” Too true — they don’t even seem to try.