Is The Fincher/Freeman RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA Project Stillborn??

Merrick here...
For years Geeks have wondered how, when, and if we'd see the fabled David Fincher directed/Morgan Freeman produced (and starring?) adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke's RENDEZVOUS WITH RAMA. And, for years, we've heard passing allusions to the project...and little hints that development might be sputtering forward. firstshowing.net caught up with Fincher, and pressed him for further details. Sadly, though, the outlook doesn't ems good at the moment.

"It looks like it's not going to happen. There's no script and as you know, [Morgan Freeman's] not in the best of health right now. We've been trying to do it but it's probably not going to happen."

...says Fincher in THIS DISCUSSION with FirstShowing. I've dreamed of seeing a movie version of this book since I was kid. Although I understand & concur with Freeman's assessment that RAMA is a very intellectual and challenging story to put on screen, I've also seen "real" FX demos which convinced me that the right atmosphere & scale could be brought to the film. Of course, getting an adaptation like this "right" requires far more than FX alone...but, considering the subject matter...creating the right sense of ambiance and mystery is a very good start.