MGM, RELATIVITY ENTER 'MATARESE CIRCLE' FOR $3M; WASHINGTON SAID TO BE ATTACHED (VAR, THR)

By Nancy Tartaglione-Vialatte

Following a report last week that attached Denzel Washington to an adaptation of Robert Ludlum�s �The Matarese Circle,� news today says that MGM has acquired the property. In what is the first major material deal made since Mary Parent took over as head of the studio�s worldwide motion picture group, the book was reportedly acquired for $3 million with another seven figures to be paid to screenwriters Michael Brandt and Derek Haas.

Ryan Kavanaugh�s Relativity Media will co-finance the film.

Sources told Variety that the writers� quote is $1.25 million, but their WMA reps were asking $2.5 million for the writing job. Leverage was diminished, however, because the property was controlled by ICM, which represented the Ludlum estate and surprised everybody by closing the deal so quickly with MGM, before the scribe deals were worked out.

Jeffrey Weiner, who runs the Ludlum estate, will produce with Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Nick Wechsler.

�The Matarese Circle� is set during the Cold War and pairs rival spies, one from the CIA and the other from the KGB, who bury the hatchet for the moment because only they possess the smarts and killing abilities to go up against an international circle of criminals called the Matarese.

Insiders said the Cold War tensions will be dropped and the storyline contemporized, says Variety.

Parent was vice chairman at Universal while the Jason Bourne series got off the ground.

�Matarese�s� franchise potential had three other studios bidding, including Universal. Relativity also aggressively chased the property, and then aligned with MGM.

�We have had a strong relationship with Mary and MGM and both companies were equally interested in producing this film,� Kavanaugh told Variety. He expects a swift progress to production.

While MGM/Relativity�s $3 million buy is likely the largest sum paid for a book so far this year, it�s not extreme for Ludlum, whose thrillers have been catnip for stars, Variety points out. Universal recently reengaged Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon to return for a fourth Jason Bourne thriller, and in 2005, Paramount paid $4 million for Ludlum�s �The Chancellor Manuscript,� a thriller that sold with a Leonardo DiCaprio attachment.