Director Tate Taylor has been taking his sweet time in choosing a follow-up to last year’s Best Picture nominee The Help, but it sounds like he’s closing in on a new project.  Deadline reports that Taylor is in talks to write and direct an adaptation of the 2002 British miniseries The Jury.  The story “focuses on the inner workings of the trial of a young Sikh student charged with murdering a classmate tormenter.”  The original miniseries starred Gerard Butler and Mark Strong, and spent considerable time examining the lives of the jurors as they moved closer to a verdict.  The project was initially developed with Marc Forster directing and Beau Willimon (The Ides of March) writing the screenplay, but that version never came to fruition.  Hit the jump for more.

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Taylor flirted with directing the road trip comedy Tammy, written by Melissa McCarthy as a starring vehicle for the Bridesmaids actress, but ultimately decided not to direct.  I actually think The Jury could make for a compelling courtroom drama in the vein of A Time to Kill.  The miniseries was written by Peter Morgan (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), but I’m assuming Taylor will be taking a more streamlined/commercial approach.

I wasn't exactly bowled over by The Help, but I thought it was a fine enough adaptation of some tough material.  If anything, it proved that Taylor can get some strong performances out of his actors.  Hopefully he lines up an impressive cast for what's sure to be a large ensemble in The Jury. Watch a clip from the miniseries below.