A few directors are getting moving on some new projects, ranging in subject matter from a true life trek, Elvis Presley and organ trading. Yep, it’s a diverse batch, so let’s dive in…..
First up, it looks like Jean-Marc Vallee is doing a bit of business before he heads to Toronto to unveil “The Dallas Buyer’s Club” starring Matthew McConaughey. The director has been tapped by Fox Searchlight to helm “Wild,” starring Reese Witherspoon. Like ‘Dallas,’ this is also a true story tale, with the Nick Hornby (“An Education,” “About A Boy,” “High Fidelity“) adaptation of Cheryl Strayed‘s “Wild: From Lost To Found On The Pacific Crest Trail” telling the tale of a woman’s 1,100-mile solo hike in the wake of personal tragedy, including the death of her mother and the collapse of her marriage. No word yet on when this will roll.
Meanwhile, famed DP and sometimes moviemaker Caleb Deschanel (he’s a five-time Oscar nominee) is set to direct his first film in over 20 years with “Growing Up Graceland.” The Robert Boris-penned flick “is told through the eyes of Elvis’s younger stepbrother David Stanley, who moves with his family into Elvis’s famed Graceland estate after the singer’s return from the Army in the fall of 1960. [The film] will chronicle the bond between Elvis and his little brother as both siblings deal with the loss of their parents amid Elvis’s growing success.” Well, that’s certainly a different take on the hip shaker, so we’re intrigued.
Lastly, riding high on solid buzz for their Sundance flick “Blue Caprice,” writer and director Alexandre Moors and Ronnie Porto, have lined up a new project. They’ll team up on “Cannibal,” which is not a horror movie, but “a surreal crime thriller set in the world of illegal organ trading.” Yeah, we’re definitely curious. This one is set up at the awesomely named 1984 Private Defense Contractors. [Deadline/THR]
