It seems directors coming out of the wilderness is a trend that's going to continue in 2012. Last year saw new feature films from long-absent folks like Lynne Ramsay, Alexander Payne and Terrence Malick (who is suddenly on some kind of productive tear), while this year will see Whit Stillman's latest in decades, "Damsels In Distress," finally hit theaters. Well, another helmer we haven't heard from in ages is excitingly coming back.
Phil Morrison, who directed the tender and beautiful "Junebug," which made a star and Academy Award nominee out of Amy Adams, is finally back with his sophomore feature effort. And he's rounded up a helluva cast. Paul Giamatti, Paul Rudd and Sally Hawkins will star in the comedy "Lucky Dog," the wild premise of which centers on two rival French-Canadian conmen who pair up on a get-rich-quick scheme to sell Christmas trees in New York. Two things: 1) WTF and 2) Awesome.
Melissa James Gibson penned the script and we only hope to see Rudd and Giamatti fully embrace some Franco-Canadian zaniness. It's certainly a big left turn for Morrison, though perhaps not entirely surprising as he did just recently helm an episode of HBO's "Enlightened." But he's got a great cast and premise, and we're stoked to see him back. And it shouldn't be long — filming begins next month in New York. Zut alors! [Deadline]
