On the eve of his turn as Russian villain Ivan Vanko in Jon Favreau’s “Iron Man 2,” Mickey Rourke is set to continue his comeback by joining his “Domino” director Tony Scott on the helmer’s next two projects: an adaptation of Sonny Barger’s autobiography titled “Hell’s Angels” and crime-drama “Potzdamer Platz.”
In ‘Angels,’ Rourke would play lead Barger — a role described as “so perfectly tailored for Rourke that it is hard to imagine another actor who could more convincingly play a character who wears the hard miles and brawn of a grizzled biker gang veteran.” The story is based on Barger’s autobiography “Hell’s Angel: The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club” and details “the formation, events and colorful history” of the titular motorcycle gang through the eyes the tough guy who formed the gang’s Oakland arm and helped expand it into a national organization.
Scott Frank is currently rewriting the Stephen Gaghan script into a “Donnie Brasco”-esque tale that would involve a young cop who tries to infiltrate the club and investigate its activities. Without a hint of imagination, Shia LaBeouf is already reportedly in talks for the role which will presumably be the audience’s eyes into the world of the Hell’s Angels.
While things begin to come together on that project, Scott looks set to imminently finalize financing and move forward with “Potzdamer Platz,” a drama about two soldiers in a New Jersey-based crime family who try to expand internationally. The project already has Rourke, Javier Bardem and Jason Statham circling roles with Scott also hoping to convince Al Pacino and the currently retired “Crimson Tide” star Gene Hackman to join. That’s quite the potential cast.
The German title for the film, “Potzdamer Platz,” will also likely be changed with the film’s narrative venture in that particular country set to be moved to Puerto Rico. Scripting is from Buddy Giovinazzo with rewrites by the “Sexy Beast” team of David Scinto and Louis Mellis. Last we heard, Relativity and Lionsgate were looking to get on board though a 20th Century Fox partnership with Scott’s production company Scott Free, which means they’ll have first crack.
Either way, it looks like Rourke’s comeback is set to go full steam ahead — a leading role opposite LaBeouf in a Scott actioner will probably be his biggest test since all the success of “The Wrestler” — though we’re admittedly worried that Rourke is doing this more as a favor to Scott for putting him in “Domino” during his downtime (like the favor for Sly Stallone in the upcoming “The Expendables”) rather than it being anything of quality. The actor also has the likes of Tarsem’s Greek mythology tale “Immortals” and Mitch Glazer’s period-pic “Passion Play” in the works.
