A strike that is going to cripple Hollywood is upon us (or them actually), but that means better pickings and luck for independent guys and or modern auteurs if you want ascribe them those titles. [ed. does it mean better pickings, does it have anything to do with this lot at all?]
Directors we sometimes love Terry Gilliam (heart Brazil,”The Brothers Grimm” not so much) Jim Jarmusch (“Mystery Train,” “Broken Flowers”), David Fincher (“Seven” good, “Zodiac” dullsville), have all recently found projects that someone will actually finance.
Sometimes we’re skeptical. Especially for Gilliam, whose last two films were utter flops that came and went, not to mention pretty terrible (see “The Brothers Grimm,” the other was “Tideland,” Tidewho? Exactly). The documentary made before these two is “Lost In La Mancha,” a film that basically watched Gilliam slowly lose control and funding for his attempt at making Don Quioxte. The fact that anyone will still give him two pennies to rub together is a bit of a surprise, but maybe he can finally pull out a good one out of his hat. But it’s been nine years since he put out a decent film (“Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas”). Which finally brings us to his new project, “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.” We reported this one back in June, but apparently it’s fully green-lit and ready to go. The principal cast of Christopher Plummer, Heath Ledger and Tom Waits is the same and additions include Andrew Garfield and umm…Verne Troyer.
According to Variety the story is a “modern-day fantasy adventure” starring the wacky Dr. Parnassus (Plummer), who has the power to guide the imagination. Parnassus offers audience members the chance to “transcend reality by passing through a magical mirror.” Yikes, kind of sounds like the same old recycled thing from Gilliam. We’re not very optimistic about this one getting his career back on track.
Fright-night haired indie auteur Jim Jarmusch hasn’t really made a bad move yet (aside from “Coffee & Cigarettes” which wasn’t terrible and was more a pet-project fun series of vignettes than a whole-hearted movie). According to the Hollywood Reporter, up next for him is “The Limits of Control” which focuses on a mysterious outlaw finishing a job in Spain played by Jarmusch’s frequent star, Isaach De Bankole (the French guy opposite Forrest Whitaker in the very excellent “Ghost Dog”). More international stars are said to sign on soon as Jarmusch tends to get a lot of overseas financing. No American bankable stars, but who cares, he doesn’t need them (see the multi-culti “A Night On Earth”)
David Fincher, he of the dark and twisted cinematic mien, is also looking towards similar subjects. He’s working on an adaptation of the graphic novel “The Killer,” about a “top assassin suddenly plagued by his conscience and a highly competent cop hot on his tail, also according to Variety. If it’s as laborious and as over-meticulous as “Zodiac” we’re all in trouble (that film was like an unpleasant term paper that you actually had to study for and it hurt your brain a little bit). Speaking of “Zodiac,” Fincher is putting out his extended director’s cut, because, you know, two hours and forty five minutes just wasn’t enough time to tell the original (Fucking STUDIO!). We’re on the fence about “The Killer,” but we’ll see something before that. Fincher’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” starring Brad Pitt as an old man who physically ages backwards is due in the fall of 2008. Pitt’s character fall in love with a 30-year-old woman (Cate Blanchett) and then must come to terms with the relationship as they literally grow in opposite directions. The film has been wrapped for some time now and the special effects for Pitt to convincingly age backwards are being worked on as we speak.
Three directors, three upcoming films. Try and contain your excitement.