Denzel Washington Attached to Matarese Circle

[Dark Donnie]

In December, the Star reported that the famed local director of films like Eastern Promises had dinner with Tom Cruise when the megastar was in town to promote his most recent film, Valkyrie. At the time, the director coyly stated: "We both said that we'd be interested in working with each other if a project came along and we left it at that."

Now, various sources are reporting that Cruise is in final negotiations to join the director and Denzel Washington in an adaptation of Robert Ludlum's The Matarese Circle.

"We're hoping so," Cronenberg said in an interview yesterday. "He's pretty excited to do it. Of course, I'm not involved in his negotiations, so I'm hoping that they'll work out.

"It's certainly confirmed that he wants to do it, that MGM wants him to do it and so it's a question of negotiating a deal. I'm hopeful that'll happen. He hasn't signed yet, but it's very close."

Cronenberg says they did discuss the role at that Yorkville dinner and he couldn't be more pleased about the star-studded cast coming together.

"They're (Cruise and Washington) both fantastic actors and stars, so to see them together would be incredible. I want to see it as much as anybody," he said. "So to be in charge of directing these two guys is going to be great fun."

Washington will play Brandon Scofield, an American agent, while Cruise would play the Russian spy role of Vasili Taleniekov. The director notes that the story will require a contemporary update, considering the book was written in 1979.

"Of course, many things have changed since the book was written. I mean there is no Soviet Union, that changes a lot. There wasn't the Internet, and that changes a lot. I mean in that book, the spies spend a lot of time looking for pay phones.

"I'm serious," he said. "Obviously that doesn't cut it, so the choice is either to update it to now or do a period piece. Since it was 30 years ago, it's not that attractive as a period piece, so we are updating it."

Cronenberg has been working on the script for the past few months and, after getting approval from various parties, hopes to start pre-production soon. Shooting would take place in several undisclosed countries this summer and fall, with a planned 2010 release.

http://www.thestar.com/Entertainment/article/586265

 

[Hunter Rider]

Awesome! I am really hoping this happens.

 

[Sava]

oh please let this happen

 

[FaT_tONle]

Cruise as the Russian? God no... I mean first the guy is a German who can't pull off an accent... now a Russian? I have yet to see Cruise in a good film as a foreigner... unless I am missing something.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Cruise as the Russian? God no... I mean first the guy is a German who can't pull off an accent... now a Russian? I have yet to see Cruise in a good film as a foreigner... unless I am missing something.

He didn't fail to pull off any accent, Singer chose not to use accents, the only other time he has played a "foreigner" is in 'Far and Away' and yes from what I heard he did not to a very good Irish accent however that was a LONG time ago, but seriously you are always such a negative annoyance before even seeing a single frame of most movies announced on here.

 

[FaT_tONle]

He didn't fail to pull off any accent, Singer chose not to use accents, the only other time he has played a "foreigner" is in 'Far and Away' and yes from what I heard he did not to a very good Irish accent however that was a LONG time ago, but seriously you are always such a negative annoyance before even seeing a single frame of most movies announced on here.

Sorry to disappoint... and maybe Singer realized that he couldn't get an accent out of anybody... hence his reason to drop it. And an Irish accent? Everyone and their mothers can do a half decent Irish... I am not sure how the GA will react to Cruise try to pull off a Russian spy... I just think this is a case of getting wrapped up in casting an acting equivalent to Denzel.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Sorry to disappoint... and an Irish accent? Everyone and their mothers can do a half decent Irish... I am not sure how the GA will react to Cruise try to pull off a Russian spy... I just think this is a case of getting wrapped up in casting an acting equivalent to Denzel.

You didn't disappoint, I can always rely on you to be exactly the same in every thread in this section. Actually the Irish accent is hard to do if you don't want to come off like you are spoofing it. So are you saying they should cast a Russian as the Russian spy ? b/c other than that there is no reason Cruise cannot do the role perfectly well.

 

[FaT_tONle]

You didn't disappoint, I can always rely on you to be exactly the same in every thread in this section. Actually the Irish accent is hard to do if you don't want to come off like you are spoofing it. So are you saying they should cast a Russian as the Russian spy ? b/c other than that there is no reason Cruise cannot do the role perfectly well.

That was my point... you can always rely on it... and when the hell did I imply cast a Russian... there are actors out there that can pull it off without coming off as comical... like your boy Viggo... one of many examples...

 

[Hunter Rider]

That was my point... you can always rely on it... and when the hell did I imply cast a Russian... there are actors out there that can pull it off without coming off as comical... like your boy Viggo... one of many examples...

You said "Sorry to disappoint" which implies i was surprised at your post, anyway, I never said you implied casting a Russian but Cruise is just as capable as any other top level actor of doing the accent, so there is no need to get someone else unless you plan to get an actual bonafide Russian to make sure there are no accent issues, that was my point.

 

[FaT_tONle]

You said "Sorry to disappoint" which implies i was surprised at your post, anyway, I never said you implied casting a Russian but Cruise is just as capable as any other top level actor of doing the accent, so there is no need to get someone else unless you plan to get an actual bonafide Russian to make sure there are no accent issues, that was my point.

I was being sarcastic... anyhow.... how do you know he is capable as any other guy when he hasn't done it any other time other than Far Far Away which nowhere near resembles Russian? There is a first time for everyone but still... I don't think the public will buy Cruise as a Russian. It will come off as phony IMO.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I was being sarcastic... anyhow.... how do you know he is capable as any other guy when he hasn't done it any other time other than Far Far Away which nowhere near resembles Russian? There is a first time for everyone but still... I don't think the public will buy Cruise as a Russian. It will come off as phony IMO.

Because he is a top class actor and I don't see him having any more trouble being Russian than Craig had being Polish of Dicaprio had being South African.

 

[Dark Donnie]

Cronenberg Reveals His Plans For The Matarese Circle

Today’s the day that David Cronenberg
will receive the highest award in the gift of the French government when he is ordained into the Légion d’Honneur. This is an honour that dates back to Napoleonic times but in more recent history has been awarded to an impressive roster of filmmakers including Satyajit Ray, David Lynch and Akira Kurosawa. A sign of the times, perhaps, that this latest honoree’s day job right now is preparing a muti-million dollar action thriller with two huge Hollywood stars.

That film is The Matarese Circle and the stars are Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington. Cronenberg has been telling the Toronto Star about his plans for the film, which are rather exciting, and I’ve got a break down and key quotes after the break.

Cronenberg has commented on why he’s taken on such an atypical project:

I think when you get too comfortable, you need to scare yourself by trying something you’ve never done before. It comes from the same place as wanting to direct an opera, or write a novel, or curate an Andy Warhol art exhibit.

He spoke about Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington’s casting in the film:

I’ve spoken to both Tom and Denzel, and they both want to do it… Usually when I write, I don’t visualize the characters, because I want them to have a life of their own, but in this case I am writing it specifically for these two actors. Tom and I get along very well. I was at his house in L.A. a couple of weeks ago, and he’s very excited.

Yep - he’s writing it. Previously, we understood that the screenplay was by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, but that draft didn’t please the stars or Cronenberg and so he himself is doing a total page-one rewrite. And that’s what is holding up the next step of engagement from the studio:

They’re waiting to read my script, so I’m under a lot of pressure and I don’t want to screw it up… It’s not easy to keep all the satisfying elements people expect and still find a way to subvert the genre and surprise the audience.

The scope of the film seems suitably big and bold for a Hollywood actioner. Here’s the Toronto Star on the subject of shooting locations and studio space:

The action requires location shooting in six countries, none of them Canada. If Cronenberg gets his way, this city will be home base, where the production offices are situated, with all the interior shooting at the new Filmport facility. He’s already trying to sell MGM on the advantages of being based in Toronto.

I’m absolutely thrilled that we’ve got something special brewing here. Bye bye Bond, bye bye Bourne.

 

[Retroman]

^^The scale of the movie sounds huge and the pairing of Cronenberg, Cruise and Washington is exciting.