From SAVAGES to THE LOCK ARTIST: Shane Salerno Scripts Great Crime

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Heads up, crime fans. Keep an eye on this kid, Shane Salerno. Savages isn’t going to go the way of U-Turn, even if it isn’t a slam dunk like Dark Knight Rises. Scriptwriter alongside author Don Winslow (who wrote the book Savages is based on), Salerno is at least going to bring in eight figures and some pats on the back.

And for Shane Salerno, Savages is just the beginning.

This guy looks to be crafting a pedigree of producing hit scripts based on critically embraced crime novels.

In Hollywood, you could do worse. Everybody loves high-explosive dramatic formulas, even when they’ve been warmed-over. Bringing elite-grade crime plots to the screen can make for a Hell of a career.

If Salerno doesn’t have a whole career in mind, he’s at least locked into that pattern for two future films. Along with Don Winslow, Satori is an upcoming installment, with Leo DiCaprio attached to the project. “Nicholai Hel” is DiCaprio’s likely role, the lead in Satori – a master assassin from the Korean War era who adds mysticism to the usual Jason Bourne repertoire of martial arts supremacy and genius intellect.

The other project is the one that has me arching an eyebrow with interest: The Lock Artist. Shane Salerno was just announced to have optioned this Edgar-award-winning novel. I’m thinking the man has booked some Oscar gold in his future.

The Edgar darling by Steve Hamilton, The Lock Artist has all the charm and formulaic strength of Drive, without the lakes of bloodshed. It’s about a quiet, part-time criminal who has one outstanding and incomparable talent – in this case, not driving cars but opening locks. You can almost guess the rest: It’s set in Los Angeles, there’s a damsel in distress, a Big Job goes horribly wrong.

So if the mathematics of Hollywood success hold sound, Shane Salerno has a hit on his hands. They’re even busier hands than that, too. He brought Chuck Hogan and Don Winslow, both elite novelists, together for another crime project. Plus, he’s got a documentary on J. D. Salinger about to be shopped around.

Barring being hit by lightning, it looks like Salerno stands to be a household name around the Complex in the years to come.