Spike Lee returns to genre filmmaking with Nagasaki Deadline.

I don't generally comment on stories from Deadline Hollywood, but this one seems legit (and notably non-sensational) enough to merit commentary. According to Mike Fleming, Spike Lee is wrapping a deal to shoot the modern-day terrorism thriller Nagasaki Deadline. Basically the gist is that it involves a damaged FBI agent who must prevent two (simultaneous?) attacks on US soil while uncovering the apparent historical motives behind the attacks. The project had been bounced around for around a decade, and had even been looked at by Martin Campbell as one of the flurry of post-Casino Royale thrillers that he was offered (he eventually decided to remake Edge of Darkness and helm Green Lantern). But now the project will mark Spike Lee's first film since Miracle at St. Anna in October 2008.

This is exciting news, as there is nothing that pleases me more than seeing A-directors playing in the B-movie sandbox. Inside Man sacrificed none of Lee's moralizing and potent social commentary and none-the-less remained a rock-solid piece of high-quality pop entertainment. Let's hope that Nagasaki Deadline delivers the same level of quality. And in an era starved for star-driven thrillers for adults, the film could theoretically strike just as hard at the box office as Inside Man, which grossed $184 million worldwide on a $45 million budget (remember when Universal knew how to budget its adult pictures responsibly?). This is a project I will be following closely.

Scott Mendelson