HELM... MATT HELM

From ComingSoon.net:

"Variety is reporting that Steven Spielberg is seriously considering directing a movie about fictional secret agent Matt Helm, created by author Donald Hamilton. The film was developed for serveral years at DreamWorks before the studio left it behind at Paramount Pictures, which own the rights.

Spielberg's representatives told the trade that he is attached to produce, but it's unclear if he's going to direct. Spielberg is reportedly excited about he project again after the rewrite that Paul Attanasio delivered last week.

As Spielberg and Stacey Snider near the closing of their financing through Reliance and their new deal with Disney, they would like nothing more than to have those partners be a part of Spielberg's next picture. But Paramount isn't obligated to make that deal, and it's unclear whether the studio will step up to Spielberg's traditionally rich terms.

Matt Helm is based on a series of 27 novels about a government agent whose mission is to take down enemy agents. Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are producing."

Could this be the sign of Steven Spielberg's version of James Bond that he's been wanting to do for years? In fact, in 1980, while George Lucas and he were sitting on a beach in Hawaii (trying to get away from the releases of their films) while waiting for the grosses to come in. Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind ended up with $303.79 million. Lucas's Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope ended up with $775,398,007. However, Lucas entered into a wager with long-time friend Steven Spielberg during the production of Close Encounters. Lucas was sure Close Encounters would outperform the yet-to-be-released Star Wars at the box office and bet 2.5% of the proceeds of each film against each other. Lucas lost the bet and to this day Spielberg is still receiving proceeds from the first of the Star Wars movies. After they both learned the early grosses, they changed the subject to their next projects. Spielberg confessed he was gonna try one more time to ask Albert Broccoli for permission to direct a James Bond film (he had constantly refused because no American has ever directed an official James Bond film). Lucas said that he had a character who was better than James Bond. The character was: Indiana Jones.

But, Spielberg - finish The Adventures of Tintin trilogy! We all want to see a movie directed by you and Peter Jackson!!

UPDATE: It seems as though Spielberg will not direct the film. For more info go to http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/07/30/spielberg-will-produce-not-direct-matt-helm/