Here’s an interesting thing: David Koepp, one of the most powerful screenwriters in Hollywood, is at last going to direct the kind of movie that he bangs out on a regular basis for his regular boss, Steven Spielberg.

Which is to say that Koepp has signed to direct Premium Rush, sadly not a biopic about the greatest striker in Liverpool’s history but instead a high-concept, big-budget thriller about a bike messenger who picks up a parcel so important that he’s chased through a city by a corrupt cop, who’s desperate to get his mitts on it.

So far, Koepp’s four directorial outings have all been relatively low-key affairs that have been based, to some degree or other, on a supernatural/fantastical premise, from Ghost Town to Stir Of Echoes to Secret Window to The Trigger Effect.

Premium Rush, from the deliberately ridiculous title to the plot, which will essentially be one long chase scene, will be a completely new ballgame for the 46 year-old, who’s become Spielberg’s (CG) go(pher)-to guy over the years, writing the likes of Jurassic Park, War Of The Worlds and Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. But his CV also boasts the likes of Carlito’s Way, Mission: Impossible and the first Spider-Man, so this is clearly a guy who knows his way around a good action beat. The question is, though: is he a guy who can direct said action beat?

Koepp co-wrote Premium Rush with John Kamps, while Gavin Polone will produce. Sony liketh the idea so much that they’re fast-tracking the project, with a leading man set to be cast soon. Expect to see Premium Rush whizz past your eyes sometime in 2011.