The Weinstein Company has won a bidding war for Apollo 18, a film to be produced by Timur Bekmambtov. Trevor Cawood is directing from a script by Brian Miller. The basic concept of the movie deals with the seemingly cancelled Apollo 18 moon mission. The film will imagine a world where the mission actually took place and led an encounter between aliens and humans.
The movie is set for release on March 4, 2011 — meaning that production has already been underway. This theory is furthered by word that footage of the film helped ignite the bidding war.
In additional news, Bekmambtov is also apparently circling a project at Fox from the Predators writing team that would deal with deep space. Further details are unknown at this time. Alex Litvak and Mike Finch will write.
Bekmambetov is currently prepping production on the Tim Burton-produced Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter at Fox. Based on the novel by Pride and Prejudice and Zombies author Seth Grahame-Smith, the movie will enter production next year.
