Just when it seemed like papal intrigue was on the decline (outside of exorcisms) the producers of American Psycho are looking to bring it back.  According to THR, Chris Hanley and Edward Pressman have picked up the rights to Richard Hammer‘s controversial book The Vatican Connection.  Published in 1983, the book attempts to connect the suspicious death of Pope John Paul I and alleged corruption in the Vatican to the Mafia and the Freemasons.  Hanley, Pressman, and co-producers John Penotti (Awake), Jeff Most (The Crow) and Bob DeBrino (Find Me Guilty) plan to turn the novel into a thriller.  I was hoping it would be a slapstick comedy, but I guess the premise is laughable enough on its own.

The producers are obviously hoping that they can pick up some of that The Da Vinci Code magic, and I assume some historians and professors are hoping for that as well.  Then they can go back to getting speaking gigs where they explain that a work of fiction is fictional.

The Shield co-stars Michael Chiklis and Forest Whitaker are set to reunite for the crime thriller Pawn. The indie centers on a hostage situation gone wrong, as an ex-con “becomes entangled in a manipulative chess game between the Feds, local police and the mob.” In addition to Chiklis and Whitaker, Deadline reports that Ray Liotta and Common are also set to star with David A. Armstrong making his feature directorial debut. Chiklis will be producing the pic alongside Brad Luff, Jeff Most, and Michael Becker. The script was written by Jay Anthony White and production is set to begin on December 1st.

Chiklis recently wrapped his role as the villain in the revenge thriller Parker opposite Jason Statham, while Whitaker just starred in The Last Stand with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Common can currently be seen on AMC’s western drama series Hell on Wheels.