News has surfaced that rising star Jamie Bell (Defiance) is the latest actor to sign on to Summit Entertainment’s new crime thriller Man on a Ledge. He joins Sam Worthington, who will headline the film, playing a cop thrown in jail for a crime he didn’t commit (naturally). When he’s let out to attend his father’s funeral, he escapes and climbs onto the ledge of a hotel, threatening to commit suicide. Bell will play the brother of Worthington who just so happens to be planning a jewelry store heist across the street as his cop brother stands on the hotel ledge. Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker) is currently in negotiations to play the cop’s ex-partner and Amy Adams is rumored for the role of a female psychiatrist who attempts to talk Worthington down while developing feelings for him (again, naturally).

While the cast seems to be coming together nicely, I’m concerned about the overall story, which even from the basic description seems overstuffed. The jewel heist plotline alone could easily be a separate film. Pablo Fenjves wrote the initial script and a rewrite comes courtesy of Red scribes Erich and Jon Hoeber. Directing duties will be performed by Asger Leth, whose previous film was the documentary Ghosts of Cite Soleil. While these artists’ work is still unproven (meaning I haven’t seen any of it), I’m willing to keep an open mind. If anything, maybe we’ll see Sam Worthington in a role that requires more than some of his previous efforts.

Around the Web: