J.J. Abrams and LOST Director Jack Bender Spend 7 MINUTES IN HEAVEN

Jack Bender is rightly regarded as one of television’s premier directors, best known as the go-to guy for all of the key episodes of Lost.  Bender is in the process of parlaying that reputation into a career in features, having recently signed on to helm Moscow, the next installment of the Jack Ryan franchise.  Now he’s developing a thriller with Lost producer J.J. Abrams entitled 7 Minutes to Heaven.  Like all the projects housed under Abrams’ Bad Robot banner, the plot details of 7 Minutes are under wraps.  However, according to Heat Vision, “it is known to focus on two teens who go into a closet as part of the titular game and find all their friends dead when they come back out.”  Whoa — I just got chills.

The original idea comes from Bender, and the pair is currently looking for a capable writer to flesh it out.  It is expected that Paramount will ultimately distribute 7 Minutes, if only because of Abrams’ past ties to the studio.