D.J. Caruso is in negotiations to direct a film adaptation of Lawrence Block’s novel “A Walk Among the Tombstones”, Deadline is reporting. The talks come after Cross Creek Pictures announced it will finance the movie, whose script will be written by Scott Frank.

The ‘I Am Number Four’ director is considering whether he wants to helm the book adaptation or the John August-written movie ‘Preacher’ for his next project. ‘A Walk Among the Tombstones’ will be produced by Dany DeVito, Double Feature partners Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher and Cross Creek president Brian Oliver.

‘A Walk Among the Tombstones’ was once set to be released by Universal and had Harrison Ford set to play Matthew Scudder. Michael is an alcoholic former cop who, during his retirement, spends his time doing during favors for his friends. A heroin kingpin’s wife is kidnapped, and her kidnappers send her body back in pieces. There’s no word yet if Ford is still interested in playing the character.

The film was close to production in the 1990s, but then plans deteriorated as edgy dramas’ popularity declined. CAA Independent’s Roeg Sutherland reportedly revived the movie by plugging it to the new film finacier Cross Creek, which received recognition for releasing ‘Black Swan.’ The company is interested in making a franchise of the Matthew Scudder character, as there are over 20 books in the series.

Written by: Karen Benardello