Saoirse Ronan and James Gandolfini have officially boarded Oscar-winning ‘Precious’ scribe Geoffrey Fletcher’s directorial debut, the indie teenage assassin flick “Violet and Daisy.”
The project was originally pegged as a cross between “Thelma And Louise,” “Superbad” and “Pulp Fiction” and will reportedly follow “a pair of teenage assassins who are lured into what is supposed to be just another quick and easy job, only to find complications as the man they’re supposed to kill is not what they expected.” The teenage assassin aspects conjure up images of HitGirl from “Kick-Ass,” but with the talent involved, this is probably a different kettle of fish.
In its early form, Fletcher also had fellow young Oscar-nominee Carey Mulligan loosely attached to presumably star as one half of the titular pair alongside Ronan, but with this announcement, it looks like scheduling has forced the “An Education” star out — she recently joined Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive” which shoots at the same time and also has Sam Mendes’ adaptation of Ian McEwan’s “On Chesil Beach” lined up to shoot sometime this fall.
Ronan, on the other hand, stays on board having completed Joe Wright’s similarly themed “Hanna” with Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett earlier this year and may even find herself busy again this award season if Peter Weir’s prison escape epic “The Way Back” manages to get a release.
Lensing on the project begins later this month with Bonnie Timmerman, John Penotti of GreeneStreet Films and Steve Kempf producing.