Film financing these days is coming from increasingly diverse and exotic places, from overseas investors to billionaire children of a software mogul (ie. the Ellison brood). And joining the ranks of deep-pocketed kids with an interest in the arts is Jeffrey Soros, the nephew of George Soros, who is now trying his hand at the filmmaking game. With a Bollywood musical…
Well, you gotta admire the ambition we suppose, and Soros has lined up "21 Jump Street," "Rampart" and "United States Of Tara" star Brie Larson to lead "Basmati Blues." Dan Baron (who?) wrote and will direct the movie, about which plot details seem to scarce, but that IMDb says is "A musical comedy about love, adventure, and a grain of rice that could change the world." It will also have the music of country group Sugarland (!?) in what sounds like pretty mean stew of bad ideas.
Showbiz 411 proclaims that Larson beat Kate Hudson for the part (which seems weird considering they are decade apart in age and experience), and that the movie will give her a push on a Jennifer Lawrence or Jessica Chastain type level. We'll see. An Indian male lead is being sought, so we'll see how this all shakes out, but certainly, Soros is tackling the kind of movie that no one in Hollywood would touch, so perhaps there is something admirable in that.
