Was In Contention To Direct ‘The Wolverine’
You had us at “civil war heist film.”
Variety reports that “Sin Nombre” and “Jane Eyre” helmer Cary Fukunaga will write and direct the awesomely titled, “No Blood, No Guts, No Glory.” Fukunaga will be penning a new draft of the script alongside Chase Palmer, whose original draft landed on the 2009 Black List. And it sounds awesome. With comparisons being drawn to “The Dirty Dozen,” the “story follows a spy and 20 Union soldiers in disguise who board a train in Georgia in order to pull off a heist that could bring a quick end to the Civil War.” The film is based on the true account of the Great Locomotive Chase in which the Union soliders took over a train, and proceeded run it ragged on the Western & Atlantic Railroad tracks doing extensive damage and cutting Confederate communication down by clipping telegraph wires. This story also served as the inspiration for Buster Keaton‘s landmark “The General.”
We have to admit, we were a bit worried about Fukunaga when his excellent and unfairly ignored “Jane Eyre” with Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska was more or less met with a collective shrug from critics and audiences alike. But the director clearly still has a lot of heat on him and was reportedly being considered to take over “The Wolverine” from Darren Aronofsky. And while that’s certainly an inspired choice, we’re kind of glad he didn’t get it. What makes Fukunaga such an exciting new filmmaker is that he seems to eager to continue to try new genres and isn’t content with simply sticking with a rote role in the indie fimmaking world. From the the gritty “Sin Nombre,” to the lush, horrifying romance of “Jane Eyre” and now to what sounds like a balls out Civil War pic, Fukunaga reminds us of the ambitious spirit of filmmakers like Richard Linklater or Steven Soderbergh.
The project is set up over at Focus Features though no word yet on when it will roll, but we can’t wait to see how this one comes together.
