Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Brad Pitt is negotiating to star in and produce Cogan’s Trade, a comedic crime saga that re-teams Pitt with Andrew Dominik, who directed Pitt in the gunslinger role in the 2007 Western The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford. This time, Pitt will play Jackie Cogan, a professional enforcer who investigates a heist that takes place during a high stakes poker game held under the protection of the mob. The picture is an ensemble and Pitt’s Jesse James co-star Casey Affleck has been also rumored as a possible participant. Dominik wrote the script. The New Zealand-born filmmaker has only directed two films, making his debut on the Eric Bana-starrer Chopper in 2000. Cogan’s Trade has been set up independently, financed by Inferno Entertainment, which will handle international sales. The picture is being produced by Plan B’s Pitt and Dede Gardner and Chockstone’s Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz. Inferno’s Bill Johnson and Jim Seibel will be exec producers with Marc Butan, and Roger Schwartz is co-producer. CAA packaged it. The agency reps Dominik as well as Pitt, who’s managed by Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

The film quickly becomes one of the hot titles at AFM. When Pitt plans to make the movie isn’t clear  yet. The actor, who has two pictures in the can — Moneyball and Tree of Life – hasn’t landed on his next project. I’ve heard there’s interest on a New Regency adaptation of the Mark Greaney novel The Gray Man, a drama about a CIA operative-turned-hired-killer, is targeted for death by a team assigned to rescue him. A chase leads them across Europe and leads him to a daughter he didn’t know he had. The script is by Adam Cozad and numerous directors are circling the project.