Steven Spielberg inching closer to directing Robopocalypse?

Besides giving my spell checker fits, the Drew Goddard script for ROBOPOCALYPSE is also causing a frenzy in Hollywood. The CLOVERFIELD writer turned in his adaptation of Daniel H. Wilson’s upcoming novel and the whole town is atwitter. What’s got everyone goosed? Turns out the script made its way up the ranks at DreamWorks to a certain bearded fellow named Steven Spielberg.

Spielberg is off now shooting WAR HORSE, a WWII drama but is looking long and hard at ROBOPOCALPYSE as his follow-up film and when Spielberg is potentially lining up a big-budget action flick, everyone in town takes notice. Now at this point, Spielberg’s involvement with the project is tenuous. Yes, it’s set up at DreamWorks, the studio he runs, but he’s not even formally attached to direct the film at this point. At best he’s shown interest in the project. But Spielberg has shown interest in a number of films in the past that he never progressed (including recently HARVEY, LINCOLN and an OLDBOY remake).

But just the mere interest from Spielberg has agents scurrying to pick up the script and get their actors involved. Directors too are scrambling to give the script a read under the presumption that if Spielberg likes it, it must be good, and if Spielberg passes, they’ll have first crack at an A-list script (that Spielberg will likely produce).

Should ROBOPOCALYPSE get a greenlight (with Spielberg or without) it would be distributed by Disney / Touchstone through their recent deal with DreamWorks.