Ben Affleck finds next directorial project with ‘The Big Goodbye’
It’s a rather busy time for Ben Affleck! Not only has he been lauded for his work in The Way Back, with his role as basketball coach and recovering alcoholic Jack Cunningham being regarded as the best role of his career, but he’s also in post-production on new thriller Dark Waters and is set to return to filming The Last Duel with Ridley Scott this month.
And now in very exciting news, Deadline has confirmed that Affleck’s next film will chronicle the making of the legendary 1970s noir film Chinatown, with Affleck set to write and direct the adaptation of Sam Wasson’s The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood for Paramount Pictures.
Wasson’s book recounts the making of the fabled 1974 film starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. Wasson goes into great depth within the book, and it’s a thoroughly amazing part of film history.
Paramount Pictures are very excited for the film, given their connection to the original 1974 film which was set up and produced by legendary producer and studio head Robert Evans. Affleck, who is also fascinated by the history of Hollywood was attracted to the project for the very same reason, and with his talent behind-the-scenes, along with the guiding hand of producer Lorne Michaels (Saturday Night Live), you can believe that this is going to be something very special.
Here’s the official summary from
Here is Jack Nicholson at the height of his powers, as compelling a movie star as there has ever been, embarking on his great, doomed love affair with Anjelica Huston. Here is director Roman Polanski, both predator and prey, haunted by the savage death of his wife, returning to Los Angeles, the scene of the crime, where the seeds of his own self-destruction are quickly planted. Here is the fevered dealmaking of “The Kid” Robert Evans, the most consummate of producers. Here too is Robert Towne’s fabled script, widely considered the greatest original screenplay ever written. Wasson for the first time peels off layers of myth to provide the true account of its creation.
There’s no set date for production or release, but it’s likely that we’ll see the film set up to shoot in 2021, with a release date likely for 2022.
Source: Deadline
Image: Roadshow Films
