Shane Abbess Directing '7th Day' From 'Source Code' Screenwriter

Briefly: Screenwriter Ben Ripley had a couple of credits on DTV Species sequels in the mid-'00s, but with Source Code about to hit theaters he's got his first really major script out in front of audiences. The film is earning some solid reviews at SXSW, so it is no surprise to see some of Ben Ripley's other work getting put into development.

Australian director Shane Abbess is now set to direct his script 7th Day, a sci-fi thriller, which is based on a story that the two men created together.

Variety summarizes the story as being about " a voyage to establish a new colony in outer space" and relates that it is being called 'The Shining on a spaceship.' The Dino DeLaurentiis Co. is producing.

The director says the film is a contemporary take on a sci-fi thriller, and Ben Ripley told the trade, "We tried to design sequences at every turn which would surprise us and subvert genre expectations."

[Illustration above from the graphic novel version of Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination.]