Joe Carnahan Tapped To Rewrite & Direct Cassette Tape Thriller 'Umbra'

We feel for Joe Carnahan. Even though he came out of the gate strong with "Narc," his follow up projects, "Smokin' Aces" and "The A-Team" were kind of terrible. But it's not for lack of trying that he wasn't able to get some truly better material off the ground.

With that in mind, we're kind of bummed that Carnahan is once again attaching himself to some mediocre film. Deadline reports that he's been tapped to rewrite and direct the thriller "Umbra" that has the dumbest logline we've read in awhile. The story will follow "a man who finds an old cassette tape which reveals a horrifying secret." The film nearly went in front of cameras last with Nicolas Cage starring (that sounds about right) and Roger Donaldson ("Thirteen Days," "The Bank Job") directing but it never came pass. Carnahan will take a stab at Steven Karczynski's script and we hope there is something of real substance on that tape other than an old Wham! song.

If it's any small consolation, Carnahan's intriguing man vs. nature thriller "The Grey" with Liam Neeson is still moving ahead. The film, about survivors of a plane crash in Alaska who are hunted by a pack of wolves is casting and will likely shoot before "Umbra."