Screen Junkies » James Gray

Brad Pitt Eyes ‘The Gray Man’, But Not In A Creepy Way

Penn Collins — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:25:23 +0000

In Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Brad Pitt played a very good assassin. But in The Gray Man, he would play the world’s BEST assassin, which is nothing to sneeze at. Like Jason Bourne, Ethan Hunt, and so many other operatives, his last gig went bad and now he’s on the run from the very people that employed him.

The film is an adaptation from Mark Greaney’s novel, with the adaptation being completed by Adam Cozad. The film will be helmed by James Gray, who is kind of an obvious choice, given the title. The talks aren’t final yet, so nothing is certain, but negotiations are far enough along that the studio feels comfortable letting the world know that Pitt is “in like” with the project and hoping to take things to the next level. (Variety)

Joaquin Phoenix To Pimp Out Marion Cotillard In ‘Low Life’

Wookie Johnson — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:00:49 +0000

3 photosNew ‘Dark Knight Rises’ Set Photos And The Secret Of Bane’s Ooze

We Own The Night‘s James Gray is reteaming with his homie forever, Joaquin Phoenix, for his next film, Low Life. The Dark Knight Rises star Marion Cotillard has also signed on and expectations are that Jeremy Renner will join as well.

The story follows Cotillard as a woman attempting to immigrate to America from Poland. While in transit, her sister falls ill and she is forced to trade sex for medicine. Damaged from the experience, she’s preyed upon by Phoenix’s charming sleazebag character once she arrives in America. He turns her out and probably charges extra for pooping on the chest. If Renner does sign on, he’ll play the charming magician who sweeps her off her feet and offers her a way out of her bleak existence. It’s also likely that he’ll be able to have his chest pooped on for free. Because that’s love, you guys. (Deadline)

James Gray To Helm ‘The Gray Man’, Yes He Realizes That’s His Last Name Too

Joseph Gibson — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 18:02:45 +0000

Director James Gray (We Own The Night) is working on his next movie, an adaptation of the novel The Gray Man by Mark Greaney. The book covers familiar Bourne Identity-like ground, about an assassin forced to fight his way across Europe in order to save his CIA handler and handler’s family. But Gray (who, interestingly enough, has a surname that is identical to one of the words in the title of the movie he’s directing) has a pretty bold and unique idea for how to differentiate his movie from the myriad thrillers of the past: He wants to shoot The Gray Man almost entirely from the point of view of the assassin. It’ unknown whether this means he’s going to go for a totally first-person gimmick like The Lady in the Lake, or if he has a more subtle approach in mind. Here he is telling Deadline about his desire to differentiate himself from second and third Bourne movie director Paul Greengrass:

“What he did was a documentary-style objective approach, and he owns that style. I want to do the opposite, which feels like a good way to sympathize with a professional hitman. You humanize him by never distancing yourself from his experience. This story has emotional stakes that enable me to do that.”

This probably sounds very interesting to you if you’re a sucker for stylistic gimmicks like me. We’ll see if it ends up being an asset to the movie or a distraction.

Brad Pitt Peace-Outties On ‘The Lost City Of Z’

Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

^{Don’t question it. It’s art.}

With his dance card so chock full, we knew something had to give when Brad Pitt joined Cogan’s Trade yesterday. Thankfully, it wasn’t World War Z. Which is still assumed to be moving forward. However, if you were excited to see Brad buckle some swash and channel Tomb Raider, you’re in for a let down. Vulture reports that stalled talks have caused Pitt to walk away from James Gray‘s The Lost City Of Z.

Before hopping the bus out of butt-town, Pitt was slated to play Percy Fawcett, the real-life adventurer who lead an exhibition into the Amazon to find the kingdom of El Dorado. He and his crew were never seen again. It’s just as well that Pitt left the project. He just doesn’t seem like the right fit for this kind of part. Besides, this Percy Fawcett dude is a dead ringer for Kevin Costner.