Did the “Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” project slow down? Or is the script just not ready? And is this one for the studio in between or one for yourself?
Gus Van Sant is in negotiations to produce and direct first-timer Jason Lew’s screenplay “Restless.”
Described as a “contemporary and distinctive take on young love,” the film also has Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Bryce Dallas Howard on board as producers.
The project first came together when Dallas Howard brought college friend Lew’s story to her father who then worked with the scribe and Imagine to develop the script from the original play.
Van Sant directed four experimental indie projects in a row — “Gerry,” “Elephant,” “Last Days” and “Paranoid Park,” — before he returned to the mainstream with “Milk,” a picture that garnered several Academy Award nominations including a Best Actor prize for the lead, Sean Penn. While it doesn’t sound like a huge budget, it’s $15 million dollar price tag is still considerably larger than his experimental phase. “Milk” was made for $20 million so it sounds like it’s within that ballpark. [THR]
