On the Big Board |
Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
122/169 |
Max Braden |
Rouke provides an interesting character but the story editing needed tightening. |
Based on a 1989 novel by Elmore Leonard, this thriller will take viewers back into the same crime-driven world that has dominated such stuff as Get Shorty, Be Cool and The Big Bounce. This time around, the film will be directed by John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) from a screenplay by Hossein Amini (The Four Feathers).
The story centers on a woman named Carmen and her blue-collar husband, Wayne. The pair accidentally stumbles on an extortion scheme that has been hatched by Armand Degas - a half Ojibway, half French-Canadian hitman - and his chatty sociopath partner, Richie Nix. When the bad guys realize they've been found out, they set out to eliminate Carmen and Wayne, hiding out with Nix's girlfriend Donna. She's quirky in her own right, as she is a former prison guard who maintains a spectacular collection of stuffed animals and thinks Elvis is still alive.
Thus far, the cast is rumored to include Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke and Thomas Jane. The project will be released as a "Quentin Tarantino Presents" type film, much as Zhang Yimou's Hero was when it hit theaters in the past. (Kim Hollis/BOP)