Robert Zemeckis takes Flight

Robert Zemeckis is officially putting motion-capture movies behind him with his new, live-action drama Flight .

After the box office disaster that was mo-cap movie Mars Needs Moms , which Zemeckis produced, the director is heading back to live-action moviemaking – and it looks like he’s doing it with style.

Zemeckis has just signed on to make Flight , having circled the project since April this year . The film follows an alcoholic pilot who rescues a flight in distress and becomes an American hero.

But the plaudits come at a price, as the FAA investigates whether drugs were a contributing factor in the flight’s problems. Meanwhile, the pilot attempts to sort his life out.

Denzel Washington is currently in final negotiations to play the pilot, meaning this new film from Zemeckis is already sounding a million times more enticing than any of his mo-cap stuff.

Before signing on to Flight , Zemeckis also considering making time-travel films Replay and Timeless . No word yet if he’s still considering directing either of those, or if they’re completely off his slate for good. Still, welcome back, Rob.

Matt Glasby is a freelance film and TV journalist. You can find his work on Total Film - in print and online - as well as at publications like the Radio Times, Channel 4, DVD REview, Flicks, GQ, Hotdog, Little White Lies, and SFX, among others. He is also the author of several novels, including The Book of Horror: The Anatomy of Fear in Film and Britpop Cinema: From Trainspotting To This Is England.