Reitman’s Future Is Up In The Air

Looks like Jason Reitman is up to that directing thing again. 

After Jason Reitman casually mentioned that he was planning on adapting a novel for his next project, there was much speculation about what it would be. People frantically tossed around titles from the cool and hip library–two that come to mind that I heard mentioned a lot were Jennifer Government and And Then We Came to the End. Worthy works, no doubt, but not Reitman’s choice, as Variety reports today that the real project in question is an adaptation of Walter Kirn’s novel Up in the Air. Montecito, which is run by Tom Pollock and Ivan Reitman, own the film rights for the novel. They have a first look deal with Dreamworks, so the project will likely eventually go through there.

Jason Reitman was working on a script based on the book when the script for Juno came along and he put it aside to work on what became the indie darling hit of ‘07. Here’s the synopsis of Up in the Air that I found from Barnes & Noble:

Ryan Bingham’s job as a Career Transition Counselor–he fires people–has kept him airborne for years. Although he has come to despise his line of work, he has come to love the culture of what he calls “Airworld,” finding contentment within pressurized cabins, anonymous hotel rooms, and a wardrobe of wrinkle-free slacks.

I remember reading reviews of this book when it first came out and they were very good. Definitely a well-regarded book. Casting of course will be interesting, as this sounds lik a tour de force, awards season kind of role. You can imagine Tom Hanks as the obvious choice, but I would think they’d be inclined to go a little less obvious. I’ll just randomly toss out the name Thomas Haden Church, because why the heck not?

A fall shoot is planned, but Reitman is supposed to be directing a Jim Carrey starrer called Pierre Pierre, presumably this summer or well, maybe not at all. Just speculating.