#254. Skoop : Directors New Project

1. Alexandre Aja to direct The Contractor
Alexandre Aja is set to direct "The Contractor," a drama for Gaumont.
Ian Jeffers is rewriting the script. Alexandra Milchan will produce. Story is set in a world where the U.S. government can no longer afford to fight wars and authorizes private contractors to send a band of elite soldiers on missions around the world. Jeffers recently wrote "The Grey" and rewrote "Castlevania" for Rogue and director Sylvain White.Aja will tackle the project after he completes "Piranha 3-D" for Dimension Films. The fish pic follows Aja's "Mirrors" and "The Hills Have Eyes." The film reteams him with Milchan, who produced "Mirrors."

2. Joe Wright to direct Indian Summer
"The Soloist" helmer Joe Wright will next direct "Indian Summer" for Working Title and Universal.Project is based on the book of the same name by Alex von Tunzelmann about the last days of Britain's colonial rule in India and the symbolic end of Blighty's status as a world superpower.William Nicholson ("Gladiator") is penning the screenplay. Working Title co-toppers Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan will produce alongside Hilary Bevan Jones ("The Boat That Rocked").

Lensing is set to begin early next year on location in India. No cast has been set. Pic will follow the fateful events as Britain's Lord Mountbatten, with glamorous wife Edwina in tow, is sent to oversee the handover of power in the summer of 1947 to Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister. "Indian Summer" will mark Wright's fourth collaboration with Working Title and will be the first project the helmer will direct under a two-picture deal inked last year with the Brit production powerhouse and Universal.

Wright previously made his debut "Pride and Prejudice" and "Atonement" for the shingle. "The Soloist," which opens in the U.S. on April 24, is a Working Title co-production with DreamWorks.

3. Juan Antonio Bayona to direct Twillight Eclipse
Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona has signed on to direct Eclipse, the third installment in the Twilight vampire series for Summit Entertainment. According to Variety, Summit has yet to comment, and is expected to make the official announcement soon. The minimajor recently gave Eclipse a release date of June 30, 2010. Bayona's a protege of Guillermo Del Toro. He directed the Spanish-language horror-thriller The Orphanage, which was exec produced by Del Toro, and is attached to helm the Universal thriller Hater, with Del Toro and Mark Johnson producing.

Summit's opted for a different director on each Twilight pic. Chris Weitz replaced Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke on New Moon. Production's due to start shortly on New Moon with the key thesps -- Robert Pattinson as Edward, Kristen Stewart as Bella and Taylor Lautner as Jacob -- reprising their roles. New Moon is set to open Nov. 20. Melissa Rosenberg, who penned the Twilight and New Moon scripts, is working on Eclipse, in which Bella is forced to choose between Edward and Jacob. The four books in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series have sold more than 17 million copies worldwide