Peter Berg Leaves Board Games and the Gridiron Behind for ‘Father’s Day’

By  · Published on June 20th, 2012

Peter Berg has had mixed results throughout his directing career when it comes to critical acclaim and box office success, but he’s also never been one to be pigeon-holed into a specific genre or type of movie. From the very black comedy of Very Bad Things to the under-appreciated action gem that is The Kingdom, Berg likes to flex his creative muscles behind the camera and keep audiences guessing where he’ll land next.

He may have been wondering that himself after delivering one of the year’s bigger bombs to theaters in the form of the much reviled and mostly avoided Battleship. The $200m+ blockbuster-to-be has seemingly topped out at under $65 million domestic, and while it made it’s budget back internationally the numbers are still pretty damn grim for what should have been his first summer tentpole.

Luckily Berg knows how to plan ahead as before that doomed Hasbro production even hit screens he had deals lined up for at least one more action film in the form of a Navy SEALs adventure called Lone Survivor. Mark Wahlberg, Ben Foster and box-office curse Taylor Kitsch are set to star. But it seems he may have also found a far quieter story to tell.

Per Variety, Berg’s future may include a project that’s more personal and intimate than his previous work. “Father’s Day” is a new non-fiction book from Buzz Bissinger that details a road trip he took with his mentally challenged adult son, Zach. The pair traveled back to places they’ve lived previously in an effort to connect and for Buzz to understand his son in ways he never had before. This isn’t the first time Berg and Bissinger have crossed paths, as the author’s earlier book was adapted into the feature Friday Night Lights.

Rob Hunter has been writing for Film School Rejects since before you were born, which is weird seeing as he's so damn young. He's our Chief Film Critic and Associate Editor and lists 'Broadcast News' as his favorite film of all time. Feel free to say hi if you see him on Twitter @FakeRobHunter.