Actor Robert Davi Sells Screenplay to Producer Mark Canton (Exclusive)

Robert Davi, who has more than 100 screen credits on his resume in a career that dates back to the 1970s, has sold an original screenplay called The Voice to Atmosphere Entertainment MM, the production company run by Mark Canton. Davi also is attached to star in the project.

The Voice deal comes the same week Davi unfurled his singing debut, a CD of Frank Sinatra covers, Davi Sings Sinatra ­ On the Road to Romance.

Davi clearly has a thing for Sinatra, as the script also revolves around Ol’ Blue Eyes. Asked to describe the script, Davi tells THR he won’t be playing the classic crooner but rather a character who is obsessed with him:

“It is a musical and internal journey through a man’s obsession with song. It is the story of every one of us who has had a dream and gave it up because we were too frightened to follow through or (due to) the responsibility of raising a family and putting it on the back burner. It¹s a story with humor and heart that celebrates the Great American Songbook, what I call the Golden Age of American Music, the Shakespeare of America and gives it modern day relevance.”

Canton, the 300 and Piranha producer who is also behind the upcoming epic Immortals, is producing along with Atmosphere’s senior vp of production, David Hopwood. Jack Kavanaugh, who brought the project to Atmosphere, will be co-producer.

Phil Ramone, the veteran record producer whose 40-year career included working with Sinatra and who produced Davi¹s album, will act as the project’s music producer.

Canton says the script has elements of The Fighter and The King’s Speech,. “The character that he will portray is so impassioned and obsessed with finding the secret to Sinatra’s voice that it brings him to the brink of insanity.”

Davi may be best known for his memorable character work in movies such as The Goonies and Die Hard, his turn as the villain in the James Bond pic License to Kill and TV’s Profiler and Criminal Minds. He previously wrote The Dukes, a crime dramedy that he also directed and starred in with Chazz Palminteri and Peter Bogdanovich.

In addition to 300 and Piranha, Atmosphere¹s recent credits include The Spiderwick Chronicles and Letters to Juliet.  The company is in post on Cold Light of Day, the Summit thriller starring Henry Cavill and Bruce Willis, which will be released May 2012.

Email: Borys.Kit@thr.com
Twitter: @Borys_Kit

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