Allegedly Turned Down Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Magic Mike’ To Focus On ‘The East’
There is no mistaking it — Brit Marling is having a moment. Arriving at Sundance earlier this year with two films, “Another Earth” and “Sound Of Your Voice,” performing triple duties on each film — acting, writing and producing — she soon saw major buzz surround both works, with Fox Searchlight picking up rights for the pair, and the former flick earning two prizes for director Mike Cahill. Certainly not a bad way to make your entrance into Hollywood and like Noomi Rapace and Jennifer Lawrence in 2010, this year Marling seems to be the new actress that everyone wants to have a piece of. It looks like everyone is back from summer vacation and with numerous films gearing up to start shooting this fall, it seems Marling’s agent has been fielding several calls.
Vulture reveals that Steven Soderbergh, Christopher McQuarrie and Robert Redford have all been checking in to see if Marling has time for their films. The first for his male stripper pic “Magic Mike,” the next for the Tom Cruise vehicle “One Shot” and the last for the political thriller “The Company You Keep.” Marling allegedly has already turned down Soderbergh’s film (more on that in a second) and it looks like it will be a battle between “Lions For Lambs” co-stars Cruise and Redford as both of their pics shoot in September within weeks of each other.
Nothing is locked down yet and, hell, she may not do any of these, but it shows that Marling certainly has her pick of the littler. For “One Shot,” she’s been offered the female lead of Helen Rodin, the D.A. who becomes ensnared with Jack Reacher in the case of a military sniper accused of randomly murdering citizens at a shopping plaza. And while there’s no word of her part in either “The Company You Keep” or “Magic Mike,” she had to balk at the latter — even though it would only be two weeks worth of work — because of potential conflicts with her homegrown project “The East” which she also hopes to start shooting in early October.
So what is “The East”? It’s her reteam with “Sound Of My Voice” director Zal Batmanglij that centers on a woman who infiltrates an anarchist group. Fox Searchlight is tentatively backing the film but apparently they won’t move head unless they can bag a big name. So despite all her heat, Marling still needs to play the Hollywood game and bring in a major player to get her movie going.
So all this to say — the world is an oyster right now for Marling, but this also marks a treacherous time for the actress. The right choices can propel her career, while the wrong ones will leave the current buzz quickly cooling. The next few weeks should be interesting and it’s likely not the last we’re going to hear about Marling in the next little while.
