Matt Damon To Direct 'Father Daughter Time' For WB?

What is the name of the script that has execs upending hidden cash coffers to finance entries in a bidding war? One with the unwieldy title Father Daughter Time: A Tale of Armed Robbery and Eskimo Kisses, if current reports are correct. Starting yesterday we heard that Matthew Alrdich's script, about "a man who goes on the lam with his daughter on a 3-state crime spree," was earning bids from five interested parties. Now there might be a winner, and one of the other bidders could play a key role.

Deadline reported yesterday that Warner Bros, Paramount, Relativity Media, Walter Parkes, and Matt Damon and Chris Moore had all made offers on the script. Now Deadline says that Warner Bros. is set to buy the script, but that Matt Damon is likely to star and possibly even make it his first feature directorial project.

The site also quotes the screenwriter saying "The script is not high concept, it's a smallish, very personal, dark but playful road movie about a father and daughter." Matt Damon reportedly has promised to retain the script's voice and work with Matthew Aldrich as a creative partner. Those are good things, and I'm happy to see the sale of another script that isn't a comic book derived project or other high-concept thing. (Though this is the second film in the past week to conjure up echoes of the Clint Eastwood film A Perfect World. Not that there's any problem with that.)

I have no idea what to expect out of a film directed by Matt Damon — will he present a controlled, simple style, or will the movie be more like George Clooney's first effort, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, where he openly showed off the influence of director friends like the Coen Brothers and Steven Soderbergh? I'll be looking forward to seeing what comes of his intent to direct, regardless.