A recent report from The Hollywood Reporter has claimed Mark Wahlberg is set to produce an untitled hacker film with Universal Pictures. This begs the question — who knew Marky Mark would ever come this far?
Mark Wahlberg is teaming up with the likes of Jonathan Herman, who will pen the script, to create a project based on a January 2012 GQ article titled “The Hacker Is Watching,” which is really quite creepy. The article centers on an anonymous, ruthless, and highly skilled hacker who targets the student body of a large suburban high school. The story, which is actually true (yikes!), was originally written by David Kushner.
Mark Wahlberg seems to have been bitten by the producer bug in the past ten years. Since producing the not-well-known documentary Juvies in 2004, Wahlberg has since found success in producing 2010’s The Fighter as well as two of HBO’s most successful series, Entourage and Boardwalk Empire. He’s also gone on to produce a couple made-for-TV films, 2012’s Contraband (in which he starred) and the short-lived series How to Make It in America.
Jonathan Herman’s name can be found up and down 2012’s Black List, which secures the most promising scripts available to studios. He currently has a project in development called Conviction, which is being produced at Warner Bros., as well as Rites of Men, an original screenplay sold to Universal. Herman has most recently penned an updated version of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds exclusively for Universal. Needless to say, he’s one of the best kept secrets currently working in Hollywood.
Given the astounding source material, will be interesting to see what Mark Wahlberg and Co. will be able to muster for audiences. The project is rumored to be youth-driven, so expect to see young stars cast fairly soon. What will be more intriguing will be if Wahlberg plays any role, and who he’ll be able to find as a director. We’ll be sure to fill you in on the details.
