His life right now might be a blend of shooting Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy or talking about his awards-nabbing turn in The King’s Speech, but Colin Firth is also looking to track down another gig. He’s been rumoured as interested in the remake of the 1966 Michael Caine/ Shirley MacLaine caper Gambit for a while now, and Deadline reports that he’s in talks to take the lead.
The original, directed by Ronald Neame, saw Caine as Harry Tristan Dean, a cat burglar with a cunning and complex plan to steal a priceless statue from a billionaire. His scheme involves Nicole Chang (MacLaine), a waitress who just so happens to be a dead ringer (no pun intended) for the rich man’s deceased wife. But then things become trickier when the schemers fall in love.
Michael Hoffman, who directed The Last Station, is on board to make the movie from a script that has been written by two chancers you might be familiar with – Joel and Ethan Coen. And how often do they let scripts slip from their directorial grasp?
Now Firth – assuming he makes a deal – will be taking the Caine role, with producers Crime Scene Pictures preparing to launch the hunt for his female co-star.