People often forget that Jason Bateman has real credibility as a director. He earned a DGA nomination for his work on “Ozark” and even won the Emmy for Outstanding Directing in 2019. On the feature side, and although I was mixed on both films, he’s helmed “Bad Words” and “The Family Fang.”
Now Bateman is gearing up for his third directorial feature (via Deadline), teaming with Universal on an adaptation of John Grisham’s “The Partner.” He’s already locked in his lead: none other than Spidey himself, Tom Holland.
Holland will play Patrick Lanigan, a Biloxi lawyer who fakes his death, steals $90 million from his corrupt firm, and starts a new life in South America. But when the client he swindled comes after him, Patrick is forced to face the FBI—and the family he abandoned.
The project is moving quickly and could be shooting as early as this year, especially since Holland will be quite busy next year, promoting back-to-back summer blockbusters, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” and Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey.”
UPDATE: Now, let’s talk Grisham for a second.
There have been about a dozen John Grisham adaptations since the early ’90s, though very few have lived up to the hype. That first wave came in the ‘90s, with studios racing to option every book the man wrote. “The Firm” (1993) remains the standout, Sydney Pollack’s slick paranoia paired with Tom Cruise was a winning formula. “The Pelican Brief” (1993) and “A Time to Kill” (1996) were acceptable enough, but hardly great films. I actually prefer “The Rainmaker” (1997), with Francis Ford Coppola directing a young Matt Damon, while the cycle effectively ended with “Runaway Jury” (2003)—worth watching if only for that electric bathroom showdown between Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman.
Out of the dozen or so adaptations, maybe three were truly worthwhile. The good news for Bateman? The bar has been set fairly low. The bad news? Grisham might just be one of those authors who reads better than he plays on the big screen.
There's a lot of talent. Julianne Moore, Elle Fanning, Josh Hartnett, Emma Thompson, Sally Hawkins, Danny Huston, Robert Aramayo and Chloe Pirrie will all be part of the sprawling ensemble.