A science-fiction pitch from a writer with the name “Cameron” could have CBS Films dreaming dreams of Avatar-level box office receipts. For the moment, though, executives at the aggressive studio should dial back expectations until they see what they have in this debut screenplay from relative newcomer Cameron Alexander … and not James Cameron, after all.
But who knows, Alexander may soon be on his way if his script Omega Point, which The Hollywood Reporter says CBS Films just optioned, is a smash hit. The 25-year-old writer has penned a sci-fi story about a young man who reportedly encounters a downed spacecraft near a crash site in the woods. Upon exploring, the man finds and befriends “a god-like artificial intelligence agent desperate to escape earth.”
Omega already has some support. CBS Films executives Mark Ross and Alex Ginno will shepherd the project to theaters. It will be co-produced by Sidney Sherman, whose credits include a little-seen John Travolta thriller Lonely Hearts from 2006. But this is a seed that’s been planted, and the next set of decision will help the project to grow. Who will they hire to direct Alexander’s script? Who will be cast as the wandering man? How will the god-like alien be portrayed on screen? Still a lot of questions that need answers as Omega Point moves along.
As for Alexander, the trade notes that he’s a budding music video director who helmed a spot for Kristinia DeBarge, and dreams of one day directing his own features from the material that he writes. But he has a little longer to go if he’s going to run alongside the sci-fi features racing toward theaters later this year, from Star Trek Into Darkness to Elysium. It’s a good time to be a sci-fi fan. We’ll see if Omega joins the ranks of the elite in time.
