This time last week nobody knew who William Brent Bell was. While the director had a film, The Devil Inside, coming out the first week of 2012, Paramount Pictures held very few press screenings. Now, however, despite the fact that audiences actually seemed to hate the movie (CinemaScore ratings gave it an "F"), Bell is a hot commodity because his movie pulled in nearly $35 million domestically. As a result, he's already lined up his next project.
Deadline has learned that Warner Bros. has purchased a pitch called The Vatican from writer David Cohen and have hired William Brent Bell to direct the project. Few details are known about the story, but the website describes it as a "hybrid" (of what and what I have no idea) with some found footage elements. Cohen's other work includes a yet-to-be-produced script called Subject Zero - which was featured on last year's Black List - and an upcoming thriller with Luke Evans called No One Lives. In addition to The Devil Inside, Bell's previous titles include the 2006 horror movie Stay Alive and Sparkle and Charm, a comedy from the mid-90s.
I'll start by pointing out the irony of a writer named "Cohen" writing a script called The Vatican, but I'm more interested in focusing on the more important issue. Both critics and audiences absolutely despised The Devil Inside, but WB couldn't wait to sign the filmmaker at the helm of it to direct their next project. Why? Yes, the movie made money, but when you consider how much everybody hated it how does that help in the long run? This was a case in which the studios should have actually tried to take critical and fan reaction into account instead of just looking at profit margins.
