Another project once linked to Doug Liman has now found a new director. Only two days ago it was reported that Steven Soderbergh would be tackling “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” (a project that Liman eventually passed on), now Deadline reports that “The Last Station” director Michael Hoffman has taken the helm of the Coen Brothers-scribed remake of the 1966 film “Gambit,” a project linked to Liman this spring.
The film is a remake of the Michael Caine/Shirley MacLaine caper movie that falls somewhere between “Vertigo” and “Charade,” and follows a debonair cat burglar who, attempting to scam a billionaire out of a priceless statue, enlists the help of a waitress who bears a striking resemblance to his target’s late wife.
Ordinarily, this is the part where we roll our eyes at another remake but with the very clever pens of the Coen Brothers behind it, the script has attracted a lot of attention. It’s been knocking around for years, with the likes of P.J. Hogan, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley, Sandra Bullock and Jennifer Aniston all attached at various points, but the project now has funding via new kids on the block, Crime Scene Pictures, and a production start date of next May in London. No word yet on the two leads but considering Hoffman’s last film got Oscar noms for the Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren last year, we expect some notable names to circle this one.
