Paxton Eyes 'game' Control For Disney Pic

Bill Paxton is in final negotiations to step into the director's chair for the Walt Disney Co.'s "The Greatest Game Ever Played." Mark Frost and Larry Brezner are producing.

"Game" is written by Frost and based on his best-selling book "The Greatest Game Ever Played: Harry Vardon, Francis Ouimet and the Birth of Modern Golf." It tells the true story of the legendary 1913 U.S. Open in which Ouimet, a 20-year-old golf amateur from Massachusetts, shocked the genteel golf world by defeating British champion Vardon, the most famous pro golfer of his time and the inventor of what today is still considered the modern grip and swing.

Paxton, whose acting credits include "Apollo 13," "Twister" and "Titanic," made his directorial debut on 2001's "Frailty," in which he also starred. The film earned him a nomination from the Chicago Film Critics Assn. for most promising director as well as a Saturn Award nomination for best director from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.

"The book is one of the great human-interest stories of the 20th century," Paxton said. "It's an underdog story, a great piece of inspirational material that has the potential to make a great motion picture.

"The idea of faith is important to me, and this is a great story of faith and how faith plays a great role in accomplishing our dreams. A lot of times, it's not the faith in us but the faith that others have in us that makes us rise to the occasion."

Paxton does not plan to act in the film.

Jason Reed is overseeing the project for Disney, which is eyeing a summer shoot.

Paxton is appearing in "Haven" for indie filmmaker Frank E. Flowers along with Orlando Bloom and Gabriel Byrne. He is repped by Endeavor.