Three Added to Sheldon Turner’s ‘By Virtue Fall’

The revolving door that is the cast of Sheldon Turner’s directorial debut seems to be finally slowing down. Beginning last year, both Colin Farrel and Eric Bana were in talks for By Virtue Fall with Hurt Locker’s Nicolas Chartier producing. Then it was speculated that Farrel was off the project with Jeremy Renner in to take his place. Just after The Tracking Board mentioned some new developments on the thriller, now 24 Frames is confirming and reporting both those actors and Chartier are out, but Bana remains and will be joined by James Spader, Ryan Phillippe and Carla Gugino. The independent film has now been set up with Bill Block’s international sales company and financier QED, though no specific person behind the project, including producer Jennifer Klein, will publicly confirm any of the above details.

Gist: Few details surrounding By Virtue Fall’s screenplay, also penned by Turner, have surfaced, but the film will center around an ATF agent who gets framed by a mentor figure and as a result spends time in prison. Upon release, the man seeks revenge on his mentor who has since sought a new life. The writer has literally dozens of scripts in circulation. 

Worth Noting: Thanks to a favorable arbitration hearing against Jason Reitman, Turner is credited with co-writing Up in the Air. That is his most substantial produced credit despite writing screenplays for the likes of Thomas Bezucha and Michael Mann. A quick peek at his IMDb page shows a significantly long list of unproduced projects.

Do We Care?: Many of Up in the Air’s most memorable lines are thanks to Turner and there is a slow-building buzz surrounding the prolific writer’s directorial debut. Though, as we’ve learned from past projects involving Turner, we will wait for more solid news about By Virtue Fall before we get excited.