David Gordon Green continues to be one of the most fascinating filmmakers to follow. From big studio pictures to low key indies to just shooting something on the sly with Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch and dropping it just like that (his upcoming “Prince Avalanche“), the director zigs when others expect him to zag. He’s also not afraid of being busy. With ‘Avalanche’ in the can, he’s already completed shooting on this next movie “Joe,” a gritty drama starring Nicolas Cage, and lest you forget Green’s wide ranging interests, he’s also attached to direct a movie version of “Little House On The Prairie.” Seriously. And again, we didn’t see this coming.
Deadline reports that Green is now setting up a new film, entitled “Manglehorn,” and none other than Al Pacino is being sought to star. Co-written by Green and Paul Logan, the story would tell the tale of an ex-con who forty years ago gave up the woman of his dreams for a “big job” and is now living a nearly anonymous existence, nursing his sick cat back to health, and falling into a routine that includes eating at the same restaurant everyday and chatting up the bank teller on Fridays. Facing the choices he’s made, Manglehorn (great name), “faces a terrifying moment and is unmasked as a guy with a very, very dark past.”
Green has described the “love story” as having “beautiful humor,” and the picture has Worldview Entertainment lined up to finance and produce. We reckon production actually starting will require landing someone like Pacino, but if that happens, this will probably start building steam. Overall, it sounds like an Alexander Payne style story via David Gordon Green, and that sounds pretty damn great to us.
