Okay, nearly three years ago, word first surfaced that Al Pacino was looking to reteam with Barry Levinson for an adaptation of Philip Roth‘s “The Humbling.” That was pretty much the last we heard of it, but somewhere along the way filming started and this thing was cast so either credit a secretive production or accept our apologies for sleeping on this one.
Anyway, Greta Gerwig and Dianne Wiest now co-star in the movie that is so far along that it’s already in post-production, with Indiewire reporting that Millennium Films has snapped up the rights. So what’s it all about? Here’s the Amazon synopsis of the book to give you an idea:
A deteriorating and increasingly irrelevant actor finds the possibility of renewal in a younger woman in Roth’s tight Chekhovian tragedy. At 65, Simon Axler, a formerly celebrated stage actor, is undergoing a crisis: he can no longer act, his wife leaves him and, suicidal, he checks himself into a psych ward. Then he retires to his upstate New York farm to wait for… something, which arrives in the form of Pegeen, daughter of some old theater friends who is now a lithe, full-breasted woman of forty, though with something of a child still in her smile. A Rothian affair ensues, despite (or perhaps because of) their age difference and Pegeen’s lesbian past. Axler overlooks all the signs that should warn him not to trust too much in the affair and instead tries out more and more sexual turns with Pegeen (spanking, strap-ons, role play), until one night they pick up a drunk local for a three-way that might prove to be soul-crushing.
Uh, is this Al Pacino’s “Nymphomaniac“? Guess we’ll soon find out. No word yet on a release date but we presume this will hit the festival circuit first.
In other news, one of the handful of movies Nic Cage has shot that’s awaiting release is “Tokarev” (trailer here), and it looks like he got on just fine with director Paco Cabezas. How do we know? Because he’s now circling a role in the filmmaker’s next effort, “Men With No Fear.” Bryan Singer is producing the film that tells the story of Marty ‘The Mule,’ newly released from prison after being set up by his former boss Frank, a small-time neighborhood crook. While Mule was locked up, Frank went big time and became a ruthless drug kingpin. But Frank also took Mule’s most precious item—his son—and raised him like his own. Now, Mule is back on the streets and ready for revenge. He comes up with a plan to hit Frank where it really hurts: his money. Mule gathers a gang of criminals to steal Frank´s cash and win back the son who hates him.
So, basically a revenge/heist flick, which is right up our alley, doubly so if Cage will be in the mix. The project has financing from The Exchange and is set to hit the sales floor at the European Film Market.
Lastly, Deadline reports that Alexandra Daddario—the beauty who is currently twisting Woody Harrelson into emotional knots on “True Detective“—will star opposite The Rock in “San Andreas.” Yep, it’s the 3D disaster flick set to be directed by Brad Peyton about “a chopper pilot who sets out to rescue his estranged daughter after a massive earthquake hits California.” The film will hit theaters on June 5, 2015. It looks like the HBO is opening doors for the actress, as she’s also being courted for a part in the “Entourage” flick.