Robert Zemeckis in Talks to Direct Flight

Robert Zemeckis has been flirting with returning to the cinematic world of human actors with a pulse and constructed sets (with nary a motion-capture suit in sight!) since last fall. He was hovering over a number of gigs including a Wizard of Oz remake (*Sigh*), The Man of Steel and a time-travel project called Timeless.

While the first two didn't work out and the third is still a mystery, he still has his eyes for his glorious return to live-action filmmaking. According to THR, the Back to the Future helmer is in negotiations to direct Flight, set up at Paramount.

The script, penned by Reel Steel writer John Gatins, centers on a pilot afflicted by alcohol and drug abuse, rescuing an airplane and its passengers until while the influence, his being heralded as a hero, the FAA's attempt to cover up his problems when they discover the truth and his fight to clean up his life after the fact. Denzel Washington is said to be "loosely attached" for the role – that's an actor/director pairing I like the sound of.

This would certainly return Zemeckis to what made him such a successful director in the first place: the human component. Back to the Future, Contact, Forest Gump and even Who Framed Roger Rabbit worked, at the end of the day, not because of their slick visual-effects, but the story and its characters. It's about time Zemeckis put away his shiny, new toys that have lulled his career for the past decade, and this sounds like a good one to get him back up and running.