Universal Buys ‘The Disciple Program’ for Mark Wahlberg

After a hot bidding war, Universal has acquired ''The Disciple Program' for Mark Wahlberg to produce and star in. Morten Tyldum, the director of the Swedish film 'Headhunters,' has been tapped to helm the project.

The story follows a man whose wife dies, only for him to find out that her death was part of a conspiracy. The husband then has to figure out what went down and why. The Hollywood Reporter also notes that the screenplay came out of nowhere. Or, at least, out of nowhere for Hollywood.

Tyler Marceca is the writer, and he submitted to an online screenwriting contest, which then got it reviewed on the site Script Shadow and that then led to an intense bidding war. This is the sort of thing most would-be screenwriters dream of, and should lead to the writer getting an agent and the Hollywood treatment - at least if the film comes together.

This is one of about a half dozen projects that Mark Wahlberg is attached to as star and producer, though it's likely that Wahlberg and Universal have a fairly good relationship after 'Contraband,' which proved to be a modestly successful film for both parties. Wahlberg has 'Ted' due out July 13, and is currently shooting Michael Bay's 'Pain and Gain.'