Pablo Trapero To Direct ‘The Tourist’ For 20th Century Studios

Argentine film director Pablo Trapero is set to direct his first major motion picture, 20th Century Studios‘ The Tourist, Deadline has learned.

The Tourist is a 2009 espionage novel written by Olen Steinhauer, that was featured on The New York Times’ list of best sellers. The story follows Milo Weaver, an agent with a secret branch of the CIA specializing in black ops known as the Tourists. George Clooney‘s production company reportedly purchased the film rights to the novel in March 2009. It was rumored that Clooney intended to play the role of Weaver.

Trapero directed his first feature, Mundo Grúa, which won the Critics Prize at Venice. In 2002, he opened his production company, Matanza Cine, that produces films for fellow filmmakers, as well as his own. His second feature, El Bonaerense (2002) premiered at Cannes, Familia Rodante (2004) at Venice, and Nacido y Criado (2006) at Toronto.

In 2008, Leonera, presented in Competition at Cannes, showcased the talent of Martina Gusman, muse, actress and producer of the cineaste. He returned to Cannes with Carancho (2010) and Elefante Blanco (2012), both in Un Certain Regard. His films have been covered in some of the most important festivals, receiving critical acclaim and awards. Trapero’s 2015 film El Clan opened to critical and commercial success in his home country of Argentina, setting the record for the largest opening-weekend box office of all time. It went on to premiere at Venice, where he won the Silver Lion for Best Director.

More recently, he has been directing on the small screen with ZeroZeroZero, the crime series starring Andrea Riseborough and Dane DeHaan, for Amazon Prime, Cattleya and executive producer Stefano Sollima. He also served as the lead director and executive producer on the Apple+ series Echo 3.