Mark Wahlberg is in talks for New Regency's legal thriller, The Partner, the big screen adaptation of a John Grisham's 1997 novel.
The last adapted Grisham's novel was 2001s Skipping Christmas, a comedy novel adapted for the 2004 film Christmas With the Kranks starring Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Wahlberg would not only play Patrick Lanigan, a Southern lawyer who steals $90 million from his own firm and goes on the run, but also produce through Leverage Management
John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side) was once set to write and direct, but likely so that he can dedicate more time to focusing on Saving Mr. Banks and The Partner is no longer in his hands. Therefore, the hunt is on for some new talent.
The Partner is definitely some new territory for Wahlberg as an actor and producer. On the other side, Regency topper Arnon Milchan is a completely different story; he has brought Grisham's novels to the big screen before, including A Time To Kill, The Client and Runaway Jury.
Here's the plot:
Patrick Lanigan was once a well-liked, well-paid young partner in a thriving Mississippi law firm. Then, he stole ninety million dollars from his own firm and ran for his life. For four years, he's evaded powerful men. Then, inevitably, they tracked him down at the edge of a Brazilian jungle. Patrick is coming home to the Mississippi city where it all began. As the trial begins, Patrick's former partners wait for their revenge. But another story is about to unfold because Patrick, the most reviled, white-collar criminal, knows something no one else in the world knows.
Stay tuned.
