August 24, 2001
Kurt Russell is eyeing one of two lead roles in a movie version of the Mob thriller "Spring's Gambit," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

MGM and Hyde Park Entertainment have acquired the rights to W.L. Ripley's novel, about a money-laundering real-estate developer who learns he is dying of cancer, turns his back on his criminal past and moves to Aspen, only to find out he has been misdiagnosed.

The now-healthy mogul becomes a Mob target and enlists the help of a former secret service agent to protect him. The report said Russell may play either the bodyguard or the reformed mobster.

Producer David Hoberman says the film will be a black comedy with a tone similar to "Get Shorty."

"It's such an original comedy. ... A perfect fit for Kurt Russell," Hoberman told The Hollywood Reporter.