According to author Douglas Preston – not to be confused with Victoria Wood’s long-time sidekick, Duncan Preston – Tom Cruise and his company, United Artists, have snapped up the rights to his non-fiction book, The Monster Of Florence.
The Monster of Florence was a serial killer who terrorised the Italian city between 1968 and 1985, chalking up eight grisly double murders. To this date, he has never been caught.
Preston’s book actually revolves around a series of conversations that the author had with an Italian journalist, Mario Spezi, after the American had moved to Italy and become fascinated with the case. The two men decide to investigate the murders, even tracking down and talking to the man they believed committed the murders. But, along the way, Preston and Spezi fell foul of the law, with Spezi himself imprisoned on suspicion of being the Monster.
Heady stuff. Cruise will produce the movie and might even star in the movie (we’d guess that he would play Preston, but you never know – he might want to stretch himself with an Italian accent.)
Either way, a decision won’t be made until the script is delivered by Chris McQuarrie, who most recently wrote Valkyrie, Cruise’s forthcoming WWII thriller.
FYI, the most recent Preston novel to make it to the big screen? The schlocky Peter Hyams flick, The Relic. We’re guessing that The Monster Of Florence will be better. Call it a hunch.