It has been a long time since we heard anything about Nick Cave‘s “The Death Of Bunny Munro,” so we’ll bring you back up to speed. First conceived as a script, when Cave couldn’t get it produced he turned the story into a novel that is on bookshelves now. But in a little bit of an ironic twist, in 2009 it was reported that Cave’s regular collaborator John Hillcoat (“The Road,” “The Proposition,” “The Wettest County“) was going to adapt it for British televison. Then in the summer of 2010 Cave revealed that Ray Winstone was interested in the lead role, and then…nothing since. But the hope is still alive.
The Mail Online caught up with Winstone at some posh fashion store opening, and presumably with a few drinks in him, he made an outrageously awesome statement about the brewing project, at least giving us hope it’s still very much on Hillcoat and Cave’s plate. “We’re going to make it extreme. It’ll make ‘Shame‘ look like the ‘Teletubbies,’ ” Winstone proclaimed. Okay, then. While we’ll have to see just how tawdry it gets, to the actor’s credit, the source material isn’t exactly cute and cuddly.
The story follows the titular alcoholic, lotion salesman, whose door-to-door technique usually involves sleeping witih his clients, but his life is turned upside down by the suicide of his wife. Now responsible for his nine-year-old son, Monroe gets him away from their house and goes on a road trip that ultimately develops into a sharp descent into depravity. In short, he’s a sex addict who also has to forge a relationship with his child. Promising, but yes, very dark material indeed.
No word on if or when this is moving forward, but clearly Winstone is still enthused by the project. Either way, it’ll have to wait until “The Wettest County” gets out of the gate, and that film lands in theaters on August 31st.