'Lost' Director Jack Bender Rebooting Jack Ryan?

Here's another major film going to a director that is, at least, something of a surprise. New York Magazine reports that Jack Bender is a "cat's breath" away from directing Moscow, the reboot of that sturdy hero, Jack Ryan. Who's Jack Bender? A Bad Robot devotee of J.J. Abrams who directed Child's Play 3...and that's his most recent film credit. However, through his work with Abrams, Bender has become both a producer and a more than qualified TV director, making, among other Lost episodes, six in the last season, including the series finale. Also: 11 episodes of Eight is Enough. Still, he hasn't made his mark in film, so if the report is accurate, Paramount obviously sees something in his work on Lost that it likes for the new Jack Ryan film. There could be a connection between Chris Pine, the new Ryan, and J.J. Abrams, his Star Trek director. For one thing, Trek is a Paramount property, so perhaps there's a bespectacled puppet master making suggestions about this to the studio. Bad Robot does have a lucrative deal with the studio, Abrams clearly knows Bender well and he definitely landed the dismount with one reboot (as well as making the best Mission: Impossible movie). Call me crazy, but even though Abrams hasn't been announced as having any involvement with Moscow, it's the simplest possible solution. Bender has also reportedly just signed a contract with Bad Robot for future TV developmental projects, so he's high on Abrams' list, and maybe he just communicated that to the studio. If that's the case, Bender has leapfrogged dozens of directors with better film resumes to be considered for this job.

Comments

[J.Bradley]

Man! Eleven eps of "Eight is Enough"? I mean that was the late 70's. I'd say they're rewarding this guy for thirty years of work.