Tony Scott a “Step Away” from Directing Shia LaBeouf in the John Grisham Adaptation THE ASSOCIATE

At least in terms of commercial viability, you can never go wrong with a John Grisham novel.  That just might be enough to hook Tony Scott, as 24 Frames reports the Englishman is “just a step away” from signing on to direct the Grisham adaptation The Associate.  When we checked in with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura early last month, he said LaBeouf is “attached,” though the report states more definitively that the young actor “is starring.”

Following Kingdom of Heaven and Body of Lies, The Associate represents the third script that William Monahan has written for the Scott family — brother Ridley Scott directed the first two.  The plot centers on newly minted lawyer Kyle McAvoy (LaBeouf), the owner of a dark secret which falls into the wrong hands.  Hit the jump for a full synopsis.

A brief plot outline of Grisham’s The Associate:

Kyle McAvoy grew up in his father’s small-town law office in York, Pennsylvania. He excelled in college, was elected editor-in-chief of The Yale Law Journal, and his future has limitless potential.

But Kyle has a secret, a dark one, an episode from college that he has tried to forget. The secret, though, falls into the hands of the wrong people, and Kyle is forced to take a job he doesn’t want—even though it’s a job most law students can only dream about.

Three months after leaving Yale, Kyle becomes an associate at the largest law firm in the world, where, in addition to practicing law, he is expected to lie, steal, and take part in a scheme that could send him to prison, if not get him killed. [Amazon]

-

Prior to the potential Associate gig, Scott has corralled Mickey Rourke, Javier Bardem, Christopher Walken, and Johnny Hallyday for the upcoming crime drama Potsdamer Plotz.  Meanwhile, the director reunited with frequent collaborator Denzel Washington — plus Rosario Dawson and Chris Pine — for Unstoppable, which hits theaters on November 12, 2010.