Most of this is old information, but several publications are treating this like it’s a new story for some reason. Be wary of those that fall hook line and sinker for the press release.
Back in May it was announced that Anton Corbijn, whose debut feature film was the Joy Division biopic, “Control,” would direct “A Very Private Gentleman,” for Focus Features, with George Clooney in the lead role.
This is still the case, only now the film, a Rowan Joffe adaptation of a Martin Booth novel, is now imaginatively called, “The American.”
It’s essentially a “creepy psychological suspense” story that follows an assassin (Clooney) “to a rural village in southern Italy where he poses as… a quiet artist who paints miniatures of butterflies and has traveled to the area to capture a unique native specimen.” He has one more assignment to carry out, but of course romantic entanglements and local friendships complicate his task.
What is new is some of the cast members who are generally Italian actors not household names in the U.S. like Thekla Reuten — who appeared “In Bruges” as the pregnant, Belgian hotel owner caught in the middle of a gunfight — Bruce Altman, Paolo Bonacelli and Violante Placido. It’s interesting to see a film like this with what is essentially only one star. Guess Clooney’s name is enough to get a movie off the ground if he’s interested enough in backing it. Grant Heslov, who is also part of Clooney’s Smokehouse shingle at WB (and the director of the upcoming, “The Men Who Stare At Goats”) is one of the producers.
Before his feature-film career, Corbijn made his name as a inner-circle confidante and photographer for U2 and Depeche Mode, before going on to direct many, many iconic videos for both bands plus groups like Nirvana, Coldplay, Metallica, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. He has a whole Director’s Label series dedicated to his work. Presumably he’s won’t look back now that he’s into the film business.
Shooting on “The American,” began today in Venice.
