When it was revealed way back in May that David O. Russell was taking meetings with the producers for the gestating adaptation of the popular video game “Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune” we didn’t take it too seriously. Lord knows, Russell has got stacks of scripts to choose from and we figured there was only a pie-in-the-sky chance of it ever happening.
Well, here we are a couple of months later and it appears this actually came close to coming together. 24 Frames reports that over the past couple of weeks Russell, Sony and the film’s producers were actually in negotiations but were unable to agree on terms. And really, thank God for that. Russell is one of our favorites and we’d hate to see him waste his time helming a boring video game tentpole (has there ever been a worthwhile videogame adaptation?). Sony at one point were keen on fast-tracking the picture for a summer 2011 release, but the with project now back to the drawing board, that’s unlikely to happen.
It’s just as well, his dance card is full. The eclectic and versatile filmmaker will be focusing on an original script he penned; a father-daughter relationship picture called, “Old St. Louis” which appears like it will be his next picture and then in the works is an adaptation of “Pride & Prejudice & Zombies” with Natalie Portman starring and producing.
His next picture, “The Fighter” is a boxing drama that stars Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams and with its December 10 release date it sounds like a serious awards contender.
O. Russell is also attached to several other projects, but we suspect many of those are far on the backburners if happening at all. Our guess: the most plausible is “The Silver Lining Playbook” which is a Weinstein Company project and sounds rather ambitious in a potentially Michel Gondry-like manner. Further projects include the rom-com “Aaron & Sara” and “Grackle,” both of which we haven’t heard a peep from since they were announced (and note while “The H-Man Cometh” is still listed on his IMDB, the project is dead).
Finally there is “Nailed,” his political satire/health care film starring Jessica Biel and Jake Gyllenhaal, only it’s not his anymore. The project remained unfinished for more than a year, and recently found the funds for reshoots under new ownership, but O. Russell couldn’t agree to terms to complete the movie, so resigned his post and will be taking his name off the film. Fortunately it sounds like the majority of the film is complete, so whether or not the director likes it, it will be mostly his creation (though we wonder if O.Russell’s departure is a creative one or a financial one — it sounds like the latter). We suspect “Nailed” will finally come out sometime next year, but reshoots with the stars still need to be scheduled as well as more comprehensive editing, as it was abandoned mid-way through that process.
