Jones, Gyllenhaal to Program ‘Source Code’

Published by Jeff Leins on: November 9th, 2009

Jake Gyllenhaal is in negotiations for the science fiction thriller Source Code with Moon director Duncan Jones.  Summit Entertainment will distribute in the U.S., according to Screen Daily.

Gyllenhaal will play a soldier who wakes up in another man’s body and must relive a train explosion over again until he’s able to solve the mystery behind it.  It’s Groundhog Day meets 12 Monkeys, plus a little Matrix.

Ben Ripley’s phenomenal script for the film made the 2007 Black List for best un-produced screenplays above other potential films like Book of Eli, Adventureland, and Salt (which I just reviewed).  I’ve read it and hope to put something together soon on its greatness.  The latest version includes revisions by screenwriter Billy Ray.

This will be the second feature for Jones, who gained recognition this year with his futuristic isolation story and has been campaigning heavily for a Sam Rockwell Oscar nomination.  If you haven’t seen Moon yet, I highly recommend it and the film will be on DVD/Blu-Ray at the end of December.

Jones’ Mute, another sci-fi thriller, has been put on hold temporarily due to financing issues (Jones called it a “hard sell” on Twitter), and the submarine story Escape from the Deep will stay submerged.