Willis & Rifkin Moving Forward on a Pair of New Pics

Arnold Rifkin's and Bruce Willis' Cheyenne Enterprises is fast-tracking a pair of pics, one in which Willis will produce and topline, and another that Cheyenne will only produce.

First up is a deal with Bob Yari and Mark Gordon's Stratus Film Co. to adapt the Robert Crais novel Hostage as a starring project for Willis. Notably, Stratus is guaranteeing the movie's budget despite it lacking domestic distribution. The film, which was first at MGM and then at Revolution Studios, will be directed by Florent Siri (The Nest).

Hostage tells the story of a LAPD hostage negotiator (Willis) who withdraws to the countryside to become chief of a two-man police department after a standoff ends bloodily. But instead of finding peace in the small town he finds himself embroiled negotiations to save his kidnapped wife and daughter.

The film will begin pre-production immediately and is set to go before cameras in January.

The other Cheyenne production, True Believers, is moving forward quickly at MGM, with the studio making a pay-or-play offer to Japanese horror helmer Hideo Nakata (Ringu), and readying an offer for Mark Wahlberg to star.