Six months ago, I reported that Denzel Washington had signed on to star in Robert Ludmul’s The Matarese Circle.
Now it looks like a director has been found: David Cronenberg.
This is a major shock to me. While his last couple of films have been more mainstream, this seems to be a long ways away from his comfort zone.
So a couple of things come into my mind:
A)Mr. Cronenberg is hearing the call of the fat paycheck that a popcorn thriller can produce.
B) He feels that he can deliver a film that steps away the standard fare and that would be something special.
I had little use for much of his early stuff, but A History of Violence and Eastern Promises are two of my favorite films of the last couple of years and both are simply damn good crime dramas.
U.S. agent Bradly Scofield and Russian agent Vasili Taleniekov have been enimies for years. Each is responsible for the death of one close to the other. When an organization of assassins, known as The Matarese, emerges, the two are forced to work together to stop the group.
Washington will play Bradly Scofield.
Michael Brandt and Derek Haas are hadling the writing duties. The two most recently wrote Wanted and are also responsible for the 2007 remake of 3:10 to Yuma as well as the stinky 2 Fast 2 Furious.
