Tracking Shot October 2010: 2 Days In New York, Alps, Rampart, Shanghai, I Love You

At the beginning of every month, IONCINEMA.com’s “Tracking Shot” features a handful of projects that we feel are worth signaling out and that are moments away from lensing. This October we find the very last batch of titles that could be potentially ready for next May (I see a pair of films mentioned below that are possible Cannes birth qualifiers) and we find our usual mix of items: from mid-range indie budget flicks (4 million to 8 million range) to the pricey popcorn films. 

In the batch of seven, we have a pair of first time helmer Shawn Lawrence Otto. Otto wrote House of Sand and Fog (liked the themes, not the execution) and gets to work with a solid pairing in Brolin and Swank – what emotional depths will Dreams of a Dying Heart attain in the home from war storyline is my biggest concern. Speaking of home from war, Oren Moverman has collected three members from The Messenger and is setting them in what might be a more hostile, James Ellroy’s L.A backdrop. Not far from California, we have Richard Linklater going Fargo-esque in Austin and Bastrop,Texas. The dark, true story crime film will see the director pair with Linklater film alumni in Jack Black and Matthew McConaughey.

Across the pond, we have a pair of filmmaker making their third feature films. Best known for Let the Right One In, Tomas Alfredson has got himself a dream cast and multiple location set-up for a John Le Carré Cold War spy novel called Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, while Greek helmer Giorgos Lanthimos follows the critically adored Dogtooth with Alps.

After Paris and New York, Shanghai is the next city to receive a valentine from producer Emmanuel Benbihy. The 3rd in the “Cities of Love” I expect many more names to be added to the list of helmers tackling this city. — Amos Gitai, Chuan Lu, Gabriele Muccino and Jim Sheridan. Speaking of Paris and NYC, Julie Delpy offers a sequel to 2 Days In Paris.

Among the studio projects currently in pre-production that I didn’t list but are worth mentioning we find Asger Leth’s heist thriller Man on a Ledge which will begin shooting in Miami sometime this month and also worth noting is a Clint Eastwood picture I might actually like. They are still in pre-production, but look for upcoming casting news for Hoover with Leo DiCaprio in the shoes of J. Edgar H.

2 Days in New York
Director/Screenwriter: Julie Delpy
Producers: Christophe Mazodier (2 Days in Paris) and Delpy
Cast: Chris Rock and Delpy
Filming in New York City.

Alps
Director: Giorgos Lanthimos
Screenwriter: Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou (Dogtooth)
Producer: Haos Film’s Athina Rachel Tsangari
Cast: Aggeliki Papoulia, Ariane Labed
Filming in Athens.

Bernie
Director: Richard Linklater
Screenwriters: Skip Hollandsworth and Linklater
Producers: Liz Glotzer, Celine Rattray , Martin Shafer and Ginger Sledge
Cast: Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine and Matthew McConaughey
Filming in Austin and Bastrop, Texas

Dreams of a Dying Heart
Director/Screenwriter: Shawn Lawrence Otto
Producers: Robert Rodriguez, Katie Roumel, Christine Vachon and Otto
Cast: Josh Brolin and Hilary Swank
Filming in TBA.

Rampart
Director/Screenwriter: Oren Moverman
Producers: Lawrence Inglee (The Messenger) and Clark Peterson (Monster)
Cast: Steve Buscemi, Sigourney Weaver, Robin Wright, Woody Harrelson, Ben Foster, Anne Heche, Ice Cube and Cynthia Nixon
Filming in Los Angeles.

Shanghai, I Love You
Director: Amos Gitai, Chuan Lu, Gabriele Muccino and Jim Sheridan
Screenwriter: TBA
Producer: Emmanuel Benbihy
Cast: Emilie Ohana
Filming in Shanghai.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Screenwriters: Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan
Producers: Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner & Robyn Slovo
Cast: Gary Oldman, David Dencik, Colin Firth, Stephen Graham, Tom Hardy, Jared Harris, Ciarán Hinds, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Roger Lloyd Pack and Mark Strong
Filming in London and on location in Budapest and Istanbul.