Harry Houdini, the famous illusionist, a spy? At least that’s what Jeff Nathanson (Rush Hour) has signed on for, as he will write and direct The Secret Life of Houdini.

The film will be based on William Kalush and Larry Sloman’s biography of the famed man, suggesting that Houdini was a spy for Britain and was asked to be an adviser to Czar Nicholas II’s court in pre-revolutionary Russia.

It is being developed at Summit Entertainment, who plans to turn the material into an action-adventure themed feature.