Lynne Ramsay + "Moby Dick" + scifi? It seems we're not the only ones who think this is an amazing idea, and, thankfully, someone is willing to put up some money to make it happen.
Scott Pictures has come on board to produce and finance "Mobius" which is set to be directed by Ramsay from a script she co-wrote with Rory Kinnear. "It's more or less inspired by 'Moby Dick,' which is a fantastic novel, an American classic, but funnily enough a lot of people haven't read it. So I'm working on something loosely based on that," Ramsay said last fall. "And it's science-fiction, so we're taking the premise into the galaxy. So we're creating a whole new world, and a new alien. A very psychological piece, mainly taking place in the ship, a bit like 'Das Boot,' so it's quite claustrophobic." So basically, it sounds amazing.
In this new version of Herman Melville's tale, the story will again follow the captain of a ship, hellbent on revenge, this time leading his crew into outer space against an alien with dire consequences for all involved. But we'll have to wait a beat for this one to roll. As you might recall, Ramsay is also gearing up the western "Jane Got A Gun" with Natalie Portman and Michael Fassbender (fuck yes), and with that one aiming to shoot in late January, it will go first.
But after nearly a decade between "Morvern Callar" and "We Need To Talk About Kevin," we're just glad we've not just one but two very promising Ramsay projects in the pipeline. And they will find her tackling two completely different genres in unique and fascinating ways. Anyone who says cinema is dead, and is no longer exciting or worth talking about, is clearly not paying attention. [THR]