Paul Greengrass [United 93, The Bourne Supremacy] will direct Fox 2000's adaptation of Robert Harris' thriller Fear Index, the book which follows a scientist who uses computer algorithms that can predict human mood swings to trade on the world financial markets & create highly profitable hedge-funds. The novel is not actually on shelves yet but due to arrive in the UK next month & in the U.S in January. The movie is produced by Chernin Entertainment [Rise of the Planet of the Apes]. Greengrass will first direct Sony's Somali pirate movie A Captain's Duty with Tom Hanks. Hit the jump for the details.
Synopsis: "A chilling contemporary thriller from Robert Harris set in the competitive world of high finance. Dr Max Hoffman is a legend. A physicist once employed on the Large Hadron Collider, he now uses a revolutionary and highly secret system of computer algorithms to trade on the world’s financial markets. None of his rivals is sure how he does it, but somehow Hoffman’s hedge fund built around the standard measure of market volatility: the VIX or “Fear Index” generates astonishing returns for his investors.Late one night, in his house beside Lake Geneva, an intruder disturbs Hoffman and his wife while they are asleep. This terrifying moment is the start of Robert Harris’s new novel a story just as compelling and timely as his most recent contemporary thriller, The Ghost. Over the next 48 hours, as the markets edge towards another great crash, Hoffman’s world disintegrates. But who is trying to destroy him?"
Harris recently confirmed to The Telegraph that Greengrass is on board to direct the adaption.
