MGM has signed a two-year, first-look deal with George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures.
Jonathan Glickman, president of MGM’s Motion Picture Group, announced the deal on Tuesday.
The first film under the new deal will center on motoring engineer and designer John DeLorean, with Clooney set to direct the movie with the possibility of playing DeLorean. The pic will be written by Keith Bunin, based on veteran journalist Alex Pappademas’ Epic magazine article “Saint John.”
“We are thrilled to bring George, Grant, and their spectacular team into the MGM family,” Glickman said. “Smokehouse has an undeniable pedigree, representing the high quality and entertaining slate of talent we look to work with as we expand the MGM slate.”
“We’re thrilled to be working with Jon and all the folks over at MGM and look forward to a long successful partnership,” Clooney and Heslov said.
Smokehouse’s upcoming projects include Hulu’s “Catch-22,” based on Joseph Heller’s seminal novel of the same name, debuting on May 17. The series, produced by Paramount Television, stars Clooney, Christopher Abbott, and Kyle Chandler. Clooney and Heslov serve as executive producers on behalf of Smokehouse Pictures and directed two episodes each for the series.
Smokehouse films include “Good Night, and Good Luck,” for which Clooney was nominated for a best director Academy Award. Clooney and Heslove teamed with Ben Affleck to produced best picture winner “Argo.” Smokehouse titles include “The Ides of March,” “Suburbicon,” “Money Monster,” “Our Brand Is Crisis,” “The Monuments Men,” “August: Osage County,” and “The American.”
Smokehouse signed a first-look deal with Paramount for television in October.