With his Palme d’Or win for 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, Cristian Mungiu has certainly raised his profile on the international circuit. His last film, Beyond the Hills, took a screenplay and acting win at Cannes back in 2012 and now we finally have news on what he’ll direct next. Aiming to kick off shooting by fall, he reveals to Screen Daily that “it’s a story which is linked to where I am in life now. It’s about compromise, parenting and children and understanding this relationship between what you say to your children and what they see you doing.” Unlike his last film, the Romania-set drama will follow a male protagonist, but unfortunately that’s all the details we currently have.
Backed by Ridley Scott, his son Luke Scott will be making his feature directorial debut with Morgan, according to THR. Set to star Kate Mara and Anya Taylor-Joy (who is fantastic in the Sundance hit The Witch), the Fox project follows “a corporate risk-management consultant who is summoned to a remote research lab to determine whether or not to terminate an at-risk artificial being.” Written by Seth Owen, who earned a spot on last year’s Black List for the script, hopefully there’s enough originality here to differentiate from the wealth of A.I. sci-fi films as of late.
Coming off of his enjoyable, direct-to-VOD dark comedy Stretch, Joe Carnahan is getting back into the studio business. THR reports he’s set to write and direct the former Tom Cruise project Motorcade for DreamWorks. The film follows “a Secret Service agent who fails to prevent an attack that occurs on the president of the United States and his motorcade.” With no actors currently attached, we don’t expect to see it soon, but check back for updates.
After giving her a gig in Battleship, director Peter Berg will direct Rihanna in a new documentary. Described by Deadline as “a contemporary take on the 1967 Bob Dylan rock doc Dont Look Back, it will be an “unfiltered look into Rihanna’s life and how she’s ascended to become a global icon.” “Much more a character study than a music film,” according to Berg, we can’t imagine this will attract much attention outside of those in the artist’s fanbase, but we’ll have to see.
In a press release, Legendary Pictures have confirmed the cast for Zhang Yimou‘s The Great Wall. Following the story of “an elite force making a last stand for humanity on the world’s most iconic structure,” it’ll star Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe, Andy Lau, Jing Tian, Zhang Hanyu, Eddie Peng, Lu Han, Lin Gengxin, Zheng Kai, Chen Xuedong, Huang Xuan, Wang Junkai, Yu Xintian and Liu Qiong. Kicking off production this month, it’ll open on November 23rd, 2016.
Director Abderrahmane Sissako, who has crafted one of the year’s early favorites with Timbuktu, is circling an adaptation of Amin Maalouf’s Leo the African for his next film, Screen Daily reports. Following the life and adventures of the 15th century Arab diplomat, writer and explorer Hasan al-Wazzan, he has been working on it for some time, so hopefully he confirms his intentions, although he said that won’t occur until later this year.
ScreenDaily also reports Gael García Bernal is readying his sophomore feature Chicuarotes to shoot in early 2016. “The film will follow a group of kids – around 14, 15 years-old – who live by the lake,” he says. “They’re economically poor but not miserable or unhappy, basically living in paradise. The narrative of the film follows their dreams of moving up economically and socially. They want to stop working and make lots of money. I can’t tell you now how they attempt to do this but it’s a comedy – a very dark comedy.”
For some reason, Disney believes it’s a smart idea to re-hire the guy that made the incoherent mess that is Tron: Legacy for a sequel, as THR confirms Joseph Kosinski will be back for Tron 3, shooting this fall.
If you thought it couldn’t get any worse, Tim Burton is directing a live-action Dumbo for Disney, Wall Street Journal reports. We also take it he probably won’t be using PETA’s suggested ending.
Which of the above films are you most looking forward to?