"Amendment" passes to potential director

LOS ANGELES  – "The 28th Amendment," a long-gestating Warner Bros. project about conspiracy and intimidation at the White House, is close to landing a new director.

"The Lives of Others" helmer Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck is in talks to direct the picture, after Neil Jordan had been in discussions to take the helm. At one point Philip Noyce was connected to the project.

"Amendment" has been described as "The Firm" set in the White House. Its premise is that for a good part of the 20th century, the president has been the puppet of a small, lethal gang that kills anyone who defies its wishes (JFK did and paid the price, according to one iteration of the script).

Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, the writing partners behind the "Transformers" franchise and Paramount's "Star Trek" reboot, wrote the spec script on which "Amendment" is based.

Von Donnersmarck's Oscar-winning debut, about a small group of renegades who dare to defy the East German Stasi, touches on themes similar to those in "Amendment."

Denzel Washington has long been attached to star in the thriller. Tom Cruise's name also has surfaced several times in connection with the project.