Change is good and Marjane Satrapi seems to thrive on it. She broke out in 2007 with the beloved, critically acclaimed, Oscar nominated “Persepolis,” but has hardly made a predictable step since. Her followup was the fantastical live action tale “Chicken With Plums” and not long after came the comic mini-feature (it ran about 75 minutes long), “The Gang Of The Jotas.” Now, she’s shifting gears again with “The Voices,” and after nabbing Ryan Reynolds to star last fall, she’s picked up two more names in what may be her most mainstream effort yet.
Gemma Arterton and Anna Kendrick have both boarded the intriguing thriller. The Black List script was penned by Michael R. Perry (“Paranormal Activity“) and it tells the decidedly wacky story of Jerry Hickfang, a bathtub factory worker who kills the woman in accounting with whom he’s been having a relationship. He then starts taking advice from his cat and dog on how to cover his tracks and avoid trouble, all while leading him to some kind of salvation. Again, Satrapi doesn’t do conventional. No word yet on the roles the actresses will be taking.
So a pretty nice triple threat of talent up top with a nervy filmmaker behind the camera. Can they make this material work? We’ll find out soon enough as production is gearing up to start in Berlin very soon. [Deadline]
