You can file this under things I never thought I’d type: I just received a signed contract for the movie option for Pike. And the driving force behind it is the French crime director, Olivier Marchal.

I can’t imagine anyone more perfect for the job. I’ve said this before — before I knew he was interested in Pike — but my favorite crime movie of the last ten years is his 36 Quai des Orfèvres (trailer here). He also created, writes and directs the television series Braquo, the first two seasons of which are available on Hulu.

Obviously, I know most of these deals fall through, so I’m not putting any down payments on San Luis Valley land yet. But, as you can probably tell, I couldn’t be more excited.