Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. Derek Haas is on a roll. He and his screenwriting partner Michael Brandt have scripted WANTED, 3:10 TO YUMA and even have BEVERLY HILLS COP 4 in development.

What's interesting about Jerry Bruckheimer hiring Haas for another script isn't so much in the material, but in how the material was discovered. Haas started a site called Popcornfiction.com as a safe-haven for screenwriters to write short-form pulp, mostly detective fiction. Apparently, Haas' entry SHAKE caught Bruckheimer's eye and now they've closed a deal worth "over seven figures" according to Jay A. Fernandez and Borys Kit's article at Hollywood Reporter. Over seven figures? Eight figures? Probably not, probably just multiple millions. "Just." Haas must be on cloud nine about now.

The short story is still up and available on the original site and I plan to give it a read as soon as I'm done updating this morning. I did read the opening and it seems to be about an FBI agent who is showing signs Parkinson's or something very much like it. The story is about him tracking down a killer before his body makes it impossible to continue.

Who knows? Maybe this is just the excuse needed to get Michael J. Fox back to the big screen. It'd bring awareness to Parkinson's disease (if that is indeed what the main character has) and let us enjoy another Fox performance. I can speak only for myself, but I miss Michael J. Fox on the big screen... rewatched THE FRIGHTENERS a few months back and couldn't help feeling sad that we're not getting a couple Michael J. Fox flicks a year.

What do you folks think?

-Quint
quint@aintitcool.com
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