Russell Crowe wants to make James Ellroy’s first original screenplay, ’77,’ his directorial debut, Slashfilm is reporting. While the film was put on hiatus by Paramount 10 years ago, and the David Matthews has been brought in to work on re-writes for the screenplay, Crowe is still interested in bringing Ellroy’s story to the big screen.

While no official details about Matthews’ re-writes have been released, when Ellroy was working on ’77,’ the story followed two events from May 1974. One event is the unsolved murder of Los Angeles police officer Mike Edwards. The other event is the televised shootout between the LAPD and the Symbionese Liberation Army. The movie will be told through the eyes of two police partners, one who is white and one who is black. Crowe, who has also expressed interest in playing the lead in the film, is reportedly waiting on Matthews’ finished screenplay before he commits to the project.

Written by: Karen Benardello

Russell Crowe