Eight Academy Award nominations after your first two feature films ain’t too shabby. For an encore? Crickets. Last year we asked: where in the world is writer/director Todd Field? The actor turned filmmaker has had several projects gestating for several years, but he hasn't made a feature since 2006’s well-received "Little Children," which added three Oscar nominations to his total.
Good news has arrived. One of these long-in-development projects, "The Creed of Violence," is moving forward. Cross Creek Pictures and producer Michael DeLuca ("The Social Network," "Moneyball") have come on board to produce and finance the drama, an adaptation of Boston Teran's 2009 novel that takes place during the Mexican Revolution in 1910, while focusing on the American intervention in the war. An early 2013 start date is being eyed.
Can you say finally? Last we heard Leonard DiCaprio was said to be circling the project with keen interest, but hadn’t signed on in any definitive manner. Like fellow A-lister Brad Pitt, DiCaprio is pretty choosy and can do a long song and dance courtship without ever proceeding to the marriage, so whether he will officially take part in this project is unknown right now, but seems doubtful (we woulda heard with this announcement, no?).
The story centers on two leads: a small-time assassin and a young Bureau of Investigation agent who are forced to work together to infiltrate the Mexican criminal underground. Once inside they encounter a “snake's nest of thieves, smugglers and professional killers.”
Field also has "Hubris" in the works over at Universal. It’s a gangster heist tale of retribution and revenge being written by Bobby Moresco, who co-wrote "Crash" with Paul Haggis, centering on the same Chicago gangster set to feature in Michael Mann’s also-gestating gangster project "Big Tuna" (though they’re very different; we have major details here). There’s no word on this project, but kudos to Cross Creek and its producers for finally getting a major talent in front of cameras soon.