It might come as a surprise to those of you who saw her performances as Princess Exposition in this year’s “Prince Of Persia: The Sands of Time” and “Clash of the Titans,” but Gemma Arterton can act; she delivered an excellent performance in the indie thriller “The Disappearance of Alice Creed,” and was also good on British TV as “Tess of the D’Urbervilles.” While she’s committed to the upcoming “Clash” sequel, where she’ll presumably continue to stand around in the background and be a bit useless, she’s also lining up a couple of projects which could give her something more to sink her teeth into.
Arterton gave an interview to the Sunday Times (which is behind a paywall, thanks to Rupert Murdoch, but was in the Culture section of the print edition, p.11) in support of Stephen Frears’ “Tamara Drewe,” which opens in the U.K. this week, and she’s dropped a couple of hints regarding what she may be moving onto next. First of all, she’s just been cast in “The Keys to the Street” a long-gestating adaptation of a Ruth Rendell thriller, and one that’s been penned by none other than Christopher Nolan. Nolan was hired to write the script after his debut “Following,” by Fox Searchlight and Ab’strakt Pictures (“Nurse Betty”), and was originally meant to direct, although, unsurprisingly, it seems he’s no longer attached.
The plot follows a bone marrow donor, Mary, who enters a relationship with the man who’s life she saved, a man who may not be what he appears to be. Last year ScriptShadow carried a very negative, spoiler-filled review of a draft of this script revised by Michael Stokes, whose credits are mostly DTV horror fare, but it’s possible that the producers have reverted to Nolan’s version (which can only help sell the picture, we imagine…), particularly as Arterton seems to be excited; she says in the piece that when she read it, she thought “Why on earth has this film been sitting around?” There’s no news where the project’s now set up, or if there’s any other talent attached, but we imagine more details will emerge soon.
Arterton’s also attached to a “British cowboy film” named “In With The Outlaws,” to be directed by Richard E. Grant (lead actor in the brilliant “Withnail And I,” and “How to Get Ahead in Advertising”), and is also set to have a very early meeting for one of the most high profile projects around: Ridley Scott’s “Alien” prequels. Arterton says “Ridley Scott saw ‘Alice Creed’ and loved it. He wants me to meet for Aliens: The Remake, or something.” While it’s obviously early stages, (and Arterton doesn’t seem particularly keen on the project) it at least gives an idea of the kind of casting Scott’s going for.