While Oscar Isaac‘s face is now known around the world thanks to the “Star Wars” franchise, he’s using his time between movies taking place in a galaxy far, far away to keep working with auteurs, and tackle serious or interesting subject matter. He’s reteamed with “Ex Machina” director Alex Garland for “Annihilation,” he’s got Terry George‘s “The Promise” with Christian Bale in the can, and he’s part of the ensemble of George Clooney‘s Coens’-penned “Suburbicon.” So, what’s next?
Well, the actor has taken a role in Steven Spielberg‘s upcoming “The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara.” The director’s new fave, Mark Rylance (“Bridge Of Spies,” “The BFG“) is already attached to the Tony Kushner (“Lincoln,” “Munich“) -penned adaptation of David Kertzer‘s book, set in 1858, about a young Jewish boy who is taken from his home, raised Catholic, and becomes a priest. Here’s the full book synopsis:
Bologna: nightfall, June 1858. A knock sounds at the door of the Jewish merchant Momolo Mortara. Two officers of the Inquisition bust inside and seize Mortara’s six-year-old son, Edgardo. As the boy is wrenched from his father’s arms, his mother collapses. The reason for his abduction: the boy had been secretly “baptized” by a family servant. According to papal law, the child is therefore a Catholic who can be taken from his family and delivered to a special monastery where his conversion will be completed.
With this terrifying scene, prize-winning historian David I. Kertzer begins the true story of how one boy’s kidnapping became a pivotal event in the collapse of the Vatican as a secular power. The book evokes the anguish of a modest merchant’s family, the rhythms of daily life in a Jewish ghetto, and also explores, through the revolutionary campaigns of Mazzini and Garibaldi and such personages as Napoleon III, the emergence of Italy as a modern national state. Moving and informative, the Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara reads as both a historical thriller and an authoritative analysis of how a single human tragedy changed the course of history.
The plan is for Spielberg to finish filming “Ready Player One,” and then pivot to ‘Kidnapping’ in early 2017, with the plan to make it an awards season release. And certainly, the subject matter is powerful stuff, and with two great leads on board, this one has some tremendous promise. [Variety]