Lionsgate may have locked up Taylor Lautner's 'Abduction'

Taylor Lautner last week at a Hasbro event during New York's Toy Fair.

Credit: AP Photo/Hasbro

An old fashioned script bidding war is a rarity these days, but attach the name "Taylor Lautner" to a screenplay and companies pull out their pocketbooks.  Latest case in point? The script for "Abduction" has been sought after by a number of Hollywood players since it hit the market over a week ago, but as of this weekend it appears Lionsgate has finally secured a deal for the potential Taylor Lautner thriller.

Written by Shawn Christensen, the flick centers on a young man (Lautner) who is stunned to discover his life is a web of lies after he find his own baby picture on a missing persons website. More intriguing than the plotline, Variety reports Lautner's new Tailor Made production company will co-produce the film even if the actor drops out.  Yes, that's right, Lionsgate has reportedly paid $1 million for the rights to "Abduction" with no guarantee Lautner won't jump ship to board a better project -- or offer -- somewhere else. 

Even more surprising, the enthusiasm and money coming Lautner's way is pretty remarkable considering he hasn't proved he can open a film besides prominent roles in both "Twilight" and "The Twilight Saga: New Moon."  Nonetheless, Paramount Pictures has already recruited Lautner to star in their action franchise "Max Steel" and Universal Pictures and Hasbro are intent on making him the 21st Century face of "Stretch Armstrong" over the next few years.

With the strong possibility of Lautner needing to spend up to six months making one to two "Breaking Dawn" films this fall, Lionsgate will need to get a director committed to "Abduction" quickly in order to shoot this summer.

Lautner, who just had a small role in the ensemble romantic comedy "Valentine's Day," will next be seen in "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" on June 30.