Variety is reporting that Columbia Pictures has taken domestic distribution rights to the John Travolta/Samuel L. Jackson thriller “Basic. “
John McTiernan, currently in theaters with the “Rollerball” remake, is directing the Phoenix Pictures/Intermedia Films project, which began shooting in November. Travolta plays a former Army Ranger and discredited DEA agent who is brought in to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a decorated Army Ranger drill instructor (Jackson) and several of his recruits during a military training exercise gone awry. The instructor teams up with a female military police officer (Connie Nielsen) in the investigation. Tim Daly, Harry Connick Jr., Brian Van Holt, Giovanni Ribisi, Taye Diggs, Roselyn Sanchez and Cristian de la Fue.