Jason Behr Being Considered for ‘Backwater’

From MSNBC News wire:

6/24/04

Fox TV Deal a Scream for Scribe!

“Dawson’s Creek” creator Kevin Williamson is ready to stick his toe back in the television waters, signing a two-script deal at 20th Century Fox TV.
Under the pact, valued in the mid-six figures, Williamson will write one of the two scripts and supervise the other. Scribe has focused less of his attention on TV in recent years, preferring to spend more time working on features.

“I made a conscious decision to step away from TV for a while,” said Williamson. “But I’m really excited to getting back to doing something original and delivering something special. As a storyteller there are so many ideas that float through your mind, and they’re not all features.”

Besides “Dawson’s Creek,” Williamson is best known for originating the successful “Scream” film franchise. His feature, the New Orleans-set thriller “Backwater,” goes into production for Dimension Films this fall. Among the possible cast for this project Williamson said he has been wanting to work with Jason Behr and this film fits but no contracts have been signed. Also Josh Jackson behind the camera would be another possibility depending on scheduling.

Williamson said he structured his new deal that will allow him to flip back and forth between working on TV and film projects.

“It’s a flexible deal that accommodates my desire to continue to do film,” he said.

Williamson, who’s repped by WMA, was previously set up at Miramax’s TV division; that deal expired in 2002. While at Miramax, he created and exec produced the WB mystery drama “Glory Days” and ABC’s twentysomething series “Wasteland.” Both were short-lived, however.

Twentieth Century Fox’s Gary Newman, Dana Walden and Jennifer Nicholson Salke pressed hard to bring Williamson to the studio.

“We’re open to whatever he’s passionate about right now,” Walden said. “I consider the ‘Dawson’s Creek’ pilot to be virtually perfect … we’d been hoping that when he had another story to tell he’d come to this studio.”

Williamson’s other feature credits include helming “Teaching Mrs. Tingle” and writing the screenplays to “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” “Halloween: H2O” and “The Faculty.”