Aw, hell yeah. After delivering the sensational, slow burn, anti-thriller assassin tale "The American," Anton Corbijn's next effort is, excitingly, coming to life.
Philip Seymour Hoffman will take a role in "A Most Wanted Man," Corbijn's adaptation of a novel by John Le Carre, a writer who you should know by now as he also penned "Tinker Tailor Solider Spy." But this won't be some subdued '70s set and costume porno (kidding, we love that movie too). Instead, this contemporary story will center on a half-Chechen, half-Russian man who illegally immigrates to Hamburg and spins a web of intrigue that manages to involve a young British banker and a female lawyer. Hoffman will be taking the role of the head of the German secret spy organization that is watching them all. So who is playing the man at the center of attention?
Way back in the fall of 2010, Corbijn said he was prepping a German-set thriller with actor Herbert Grönemeyer to take the lead. He may not be a familiar name, but he appeared in Wolfgang Petersen's 1981 movie "Das Boot," before focusing mainly on his music career (he's released close to two dozen albums) that also included scoring both of Corbijn's two features so far. His name isn't mentoined in Screen Daily's report on the film, but we presume he's still the man Corbijn is aiming to star.
No word on when this will roll in front of cameras, but with the European Film Market coming up we presume brisk pre-sales will get the ball rolling. Good news indeed, and with that director/actor pairing, we can't wait to see the results. But this isn't the only film-related project involving Corbijn. He's at the center of a new documentary "Anton Corbijn: Inside Out" which makes its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival starting this week. From director Klaartje Quirijns, it's a chornicle of his work as a photographer, where he's captured iconic images of bands and artists ranging from Joy Division, Metallica, U2, Bjork and more. Looks pretty great, and you can check out the trailer below.