It didn’t win any major prizes and it wasn’t scooped up by a major studio, but easily one of the best films at Sundance 2013 was filmmaker/jack of all trades David Lowery‘s “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints” (it landed right at the top of our five best films from the 2013 Sundance film festival). A triple threat at Sundance and a craftsman of several disciplines, Lowery wrote and directed ‘Saints,’ edited Shane Carruth‘s mind-bending “Upstream Color” and co-wrote Yen Tan’s drama “Pit Stop.” And coming off the heat of his intense crime drama/love story, Lowery’s been picking up a lot of work.
The latest is “Torso,” the graphic novel by comics superstar Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko. A serial killer crime thriller that David Fincher tried to mount circa 2009. Lowery’s come aboard as writer and director according to THR. “Torso” is based on a true story and centers on famous law enforcement officer Elliot Ness in a story that takes place post-Al Capone days. Ness had moved to Cleveland and became embroiled in the hunt of a serial killer who was leaving torsos in the river with letters and notes taunting the police.
Fincher’s version had Matt Damon, Rachel McAdams and Casey Affleck on board (rumored to have Gary Oldman as well). THR says one reason the film fell apart at Paramount, aside from the too-high budget, was the fact that Fincher was adamant about shooting it in black and white (though it didn’t help that Fincher butted heads hard with Paramount brass during the making of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button“). Ehren Kruger (“The Ring,” “Arlington Road“) was hired to write that version of the script, but Lowery will be starting from scratch.