It really goes to show how far Michael Fassbender has come in this town. A little under a year ago, the actor signed on to star in a David Jacobson-directed adaptation of Matthew F. Jones‘ thriller “A Single Shot.” But since then, Fassbender has dropped the adaptation in favor of collaborations with the likes of Steven Soderbergh, David Cronenberg, Matthew Vaughn, Steve McQueen and soon, Ridley Scott — and who can blame him?
However, it seems the Jones indie-thriller has now been resurrected with a (by the looks of it) poor man’s Fassbender in Alessandro Nivola (“Junebug,” “Janie Jones“) who has signed on to star in and produce the project which now has David M. Rasenthal at the helm and a stellar supporting cast which includes Emily Mortimer, William H. Macy, Terrence Howard, Juliette Lewis, James Badge Dale and Juno Temple.
Adapted for the screen by the novel’s author, the story centers on poacher John Moon (Nivola) who finds himself on the run with a suitcase full of money, a target on his head and hardened killers on his tail. Lensing is set to begin this May on the adaptation with the source novel promisingly compared to the works of pulp writer Jim Thompson who — among other things — scripted Stanley Kubrick‘s classic caper “The Killing” and wrote the novel which Michael Winterbottom adapted into “The Killer Inside Me.” Here’s the full synopsis for ‘Single Shot;’
Abandoned by his wife and young son, John Moon sits in his trailer on the mountainside, feeling abused by the world. All he has left is an acre-and-a-half of the family farm, and he makes do with odd jobs and poaching game off state land. One morning he goes hunting a deer out of season and winds up killing a young runaway instead. In trying to hide the evidence of his accidental crime, Moon finds a huge sum of money, plus evidence that the young girl was not alone. Will Moon’s crime be discovered? What will be the consequences for him and his family?
