As with most any other genre, pitching a thriller seems to go that much more swimmingly once one finds an ideal blockbuster reference point with which to do half of the leg work. It's 'Die Hard meets this', 'Speed on a that', and, when in doubt, just say the damn thing is 'Hitchcockian'.

Post-2001, the likes of TV's '24' and 'Sleeper Cell', and film's Jason Bourne franchise, have tapped into both our political climate and pop culture zeitgeist, into a globe-trotting, gun-toting fear of the here and there and always now. Jeffrey Nachmanoff's Traitor feels like the first film that has itself been directly spawned in the wake of those successes, as opposed to merely being bolstered by it, and while it may overtake, say, Vantage Point in terms of plausible plotting and worldly knowledge, it remains a film that is good enough to grasp the bar and yet not quite enough to raise it.

Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for Traitor (click to enlarge), starring Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce. Based on an idea from Steve Martin (who you usually don't see take on this sort of high-stakes drama), and a script from Jeffrey Nachmanoff (who also directed), Traitor finds Pearce playing a straight-edge FBI agent who heads an investigation on international conspiracy, where all clues lead back to former U.S. Special Operations officer, Samir Horn (Cheadle).

The first trailer for Traitor is now live over at Yahoo, and I have to say I'm really enjoying the film's fast-paced edge. Cheadle looks pretty badass in this, and I don't believe we've seen him this tough on screen in quite some time. Pearce (who's always reminded me of a more disturbed and intense Val Kilmer) is on his game as usual, so I expect good things from Traitor. I like a film that makes the audience work a little and think a little. You?

Traitor is set to hit theaters on August 27.

Since way back in 1897, Morocco has been a popular location for movies looking for a little 'exoticism' in their backdrops. Variety reports that the next big-budget Hollywood flick to land there will be the big-screen version of The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Director Mike Newell signed on back in November, and will be shooting from a Jeffrey Nachmanoff (The Day After Tomorrow) script starting early this June. Persia is based on the best-selling franchise from Ubisoft about a royal son with the power to control time -- with the added bonus that he is responsible for unleashing the mother of all curses on his kingdom.

Back in December, producer Jerry Bruckheimer had confirmed that a script was in the works. Other than some info that they would be using plot elements from the game Sands of Time, nothing had been finalized. In fact, there are still a lot of question marks hanging over the film, including who was going to be donning the hero's puffy pants. Earlier this month, there was a quick glimpse of concept art, but let's just say you aren't going to learn much about the flick by looking at a few title cards. Bruckheimer and Disney are eyeing a summer release in 2009 so they are going to have to get to work if they want to meet the deadline. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is tentatively scheduled for release on June 16th, 2009.

It's kind of funny if you think about it, but Steve Martin really does have two entirely different careers. First, there is the goofy family friendly guy who stars in middling comedies like Bringing Down the House and Cheaper By the Dozen; and then there is the acerbic wit who writes abstract New Yorker pieces and stars in David Mamet films. Plus, occasionally he comes up with an idea for a movie of his own. RowThree.com is now hosting two new stills from the political thriller, Traitor. Martin will not be starring in this film, although he will serve as an executive producer. Originally Disney had lined up to produce the film back in 2002, but after a few staff changes at "mouse headquarters," the project was dropped.

Traitor stars Guy Pearce, Don Cheadle, and Jeff Daniels. Jeffrey Nachmanoff directed the film and the plot is is described as a "topical, politically relevant story dealing with international terrorism and U.S. traitors." Pearce plays FBI agent Roy Clayton; a straight arrow type who is drawn into a political conspiracy when everything points to a Special Operations officer (Cheadle). From there on it sounds like your usual espionage fare and, "obsessed with discovering the truth, Clayton tracks Horn across the globe as the elusive ex-soldier burrows deeper and deeper into a world of shadows and intrigue."

Nachmanoff isn't exactly a household name, but you might recognize him as the man who wrote The Day After Tomorrow (which isn't exactly good news, now is it?). But, I'll rely on the reputations of Pearce and Cheadle to guarantee me at least a decent popcorn movie if nothing else. Nachmanoff also wrote the script for Traitor before heading off to work on pre-production for Jerry Bruckheimer's video game flick, Prince of Persia. Traitor is still in post-production so a release date has not been set. Stay tuned to Cinematical for any updates that come our way.

I know I'm relatively alone on this, but my favorite Harry Potter movie is Goblet of Fire, which was directed by Mike Newell. I thought Newell, who also gave us Four Weddings and a Funeral and Enchanted April, got a lot of great stuff out of the cast and also seemed to inject a Britishness that I felt was missing from the series. Now, I'm not sure if either character development or Anglo-ization is something needed in an adaptation of the video game Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, but I'm still happy to see that Newell could be hired to direct the movie. According to Variety, Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney have offered Newell the project, which is expected to spawn a new franchise for the producer and studio -- likely as a replacement for the maybe-done Pirates of the Caribbean series. The Prince of Persia script has been written by Jeffrey Nachmanoff (The Day After Tomorrow) and had earlier been offered to blockbuster director Michael Bay.

I probably know the least about video games than anyone (I only like playing Rampage at my favorite arcade-bar), and Wikipedia's detail of the storyline of Prince of Persia makes my head spin. So, all I can really tell you about the story is that it involves an ancient Persian prince, a "Dagger of Time" that allows the prince to control time, and some undead creatures made of sand. Hopefully a game-playing reader can give a more concise plot description in the comments. It sounds a little more action-packed than Newell is used to, and I suspect many fans of the games will be skeptical of his ability to handle the material. I think I like Newell more than most people -- though I couldn't bring myself to watch Mona Lisa Smile -- and I look forward to seeing what he does with it. I'm still anxious to see his upcoming adaptation of Love in the Time of Cholera (out 11/16), despite the few bad reviews I've seen, and I really wish he'd be called back for the final Potter movie.

While it might be interesting to see Guy Pearce and Don Cheadle run around in an espionage thriller without any other characters, that isn't very realistic. Variety is reporting that more have been added to the cast of Traitor -- the big names being Jeff Daniels and Neal McDonough. The former is coming off some higher-cred films like Infamous and The Lookout, and recently completed a role in Mama's Boy -- the slacker romcom with Diane Keaton and Jon Heder. The latter was last seen in LiLo's latest flop -- I Know Who Killed Me, but also flicks like Flags of Our Fathers. (This also reunites McDonough with Pearce -- both were in Antonia Bird's Ravenous.)

As for the rest of the names added to the cast -- there's Archie Panjabi (A Mighty Heart), Aly Kahn (Osama) and Said Taghmaoui (Hidalgo). While it would be nice to see these actors as fellow CIA or FBI agents, methinks you can guess what sort of roles they are getting. If you're foggy on the plot -- Steve Martin (yes, that one) came up with an idea that Jeffrey Nachmanoff has since written and will direct -- a CIA operative (Cheadle) is undercover in a terrorist group and becomes a terror suspect. Pearce plays an FBI agent who investigates terrorist activities. You can imagine where things go from there. The feature will head into production this Monday as TIFF zooms into high gear.

No, there's not another Steve Martin out there who specializes in espionage thrillers. I'm talking about the funny Steve Martin -- the guy who's starred in films like Father of the Bride, My Blue Heaven and The Jerk. Yes, that Steve Martin. Apparently, while on set filming Bringing Down the House, Martin came up with an idea for an espionage thriller and pitched it to producers David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman. At first however, both men thought Martin was joking (and who wouldn't), but once they learned he was serious -- and heard the idea -- they immediately hopped onboard. After winding up at Disney (where it was eventually placed into turnaround), the flick has now found a home with Overture Films, as well as two highly-talented male leads. The Hollywood Reporter tells us that Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce have signed on to star in Traitor, with Jeffrey Nachmanoff directing off his own script (which is based on Martin's original idea). Go figure, huh?

In the film, Cheadle will play a CIA operative working undercover with a terrorist group who somehow becomes a terrorist suspect as well. Pearce, on the other hand, will star as an FBI agent investigating terrorist activities. At some point, I imagine one man will be searching for the other, unaware that they're both on the same team. That is unless Cheadle's undercover work takes him in a little too deep (hence the title) ... if you know what I mean. On the tone of the film, Hoberman says: "The movie deals with the subject of terrorism evenhandedly. It's not black and white but gray and religious-based." Nachmanoff, who's known for writing big-budgeted epics such as The Day After Tomorrow and the upcoming Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, will begin shooting Traitor this September in Toronto and Morocco. Pic marks the sixth one Overture Films has picked up for distribution this year; they're also set to release the Robert De Niro/Al Pacino thriller, Righteous Kill.