J.J. Abrams' trademark is...well, not to have one. From mysterious islands, to fringe science, to what he's done to "Star Trek," the man always keeps us guessing. So we shouldn't really be surprised when he decides to go a little mainstream and tackle an ordinary story of high stakes robbery in "The World's Biggest Diamond Heist."
Right now, Abrams is only set to produce the film for Paramount, but according to The Hollywood Reporterhe's reportedly interested in taking on the director's chair. He hasn't picked a post "Star Trek" project yet, though he's producing numerous projects through his Bad Robot shingle. A diamond heist seems a nice way to relax after exploring the final frontier, doesn't it?
The film will be based on Joshua Davis' upcoming Wired Magazine article, which details the biggest robbery to ever go down in Belgium. In 2003, a small group of Italian thieves managed to avoid 10 levels of security to access the Antwerp Diamond Center's underground vault. They made off with a stash of diamonds, gold, and jewelry estimated at $100 million, though the true value has never been known. The loot was never found, though the ringleader was caught and served six years in a Belgian prison. After refusing to admit how the robbery was accomplished, he confessed all to Davis, and he was just released this week.
It's the kind of robbery you only see in the movies, so it's fitting that it should be made into one. We'll have to wait and see whether Abrams takes the director chair or not, but in the meantime you can check out Davis' article, and wonder if there's a way for our director to tack on an unexplained ending!
Readers, do you think Abrams should take a break from science fiction and tackle a true life story like this one? Or should he stick to the eerie stories that he's best at?
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