'Olympus Has Fallen' - Gerard Butler to Star, Antoine Faqua to Direct

[Walts Ghost]

Antoine Fuqua in Talks for the Other “Die Hard in the White House” Movie, ‘Olympus Has Fallen’

Maybe it’s got something to do with the current divisive political climate, or maybe election years just bring out the most destructive tendencies in people. More likely, it’s just that weird Hollywood tendency to produce multiple films based on a single idea at the same time. (See also: Linda Lovelace, Snow White.)

Whatever the reason, Hollywood is apparently really into demolishing the White House right now. Just last week, Independence Day helmer Roland Emmerich set himself up to crush 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue again in White House Down, and now Antoine Fuqua is lining up to do the same thing with Olympus Has Fallen. Gerard Butler, who’s also lined up to star in Fuqua’s Hunter Killer, has been attached since last month.

THR writes that Fuqua has received an offer and is now in talks to direct Olympus Has Fallen, an action thriller script from Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt. Like rival project White House Down, Olympus Has Fallen has been described as “Die Hard in the White House.” Butler will play a former Secret Service agent who’s called back into duty when he becomes the only person who can stop the terrorists who’ve taken over the White House. If Fuqua officially signs on, it’ll be his first time working with Butler after two previous tries. The pair have been slated to collaborate on both Afterburn and Hunter Killer, but neither film has gotten off the ground.

The fact that Olympus Has Fallen already has a star on board puts it a bit ahead of White House Down in the race to the big screen. However, Nu Image/Millennium isn’t getting too comfortable and plans to fast-track the project, pushing the start date up from September to June. (As of last week, White House Down was aiming for a fall start.) That means we can expect to hear final word from Fuqua soon, though it’s tough to say what that decision will be. The premise — and star — sound right up Fuqua’s alley, but he’s also weighing several other projects at the moment, including New Line’s Chicagoland and potentially, eventually, the 24 film. In addition, he’s already attached to Storming Las Vegas and Southpaw.

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