Ever since he pulled the eject cord on video game adaptation Uncharted over creative story differences with Sony, David O Russell has been hinting that he’ll make any number of other possible future projects, including at least one he’s been attached to for ages (see below). But now there’s another intriguing film catching his eye, with the picky director reportedly circling Sleeping Beauty re-telling Maleficent.
You’ll recall that the job of directing Disney’s new take on the tale (which focuses not on the titular snoozy heroine, but on the evil witch who curses her to sleep in the first place) became open when Tim Burton did a runner earlier this year. With Angelina Jolie still attached to star as the misunderstood woman who also has a habit of turning into a dragon when angered, The Hollywood Reporter now has it that the film’s courting several possible megaphone wielders, with Russell among those in the mix. And given that he's flirted with - then dumped - several high-profile movies recently (including Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), we're not holding our breath for this one just yet.
Intriguingly, Jolie is also a possibility for the movie that Russell seemingly wants to make next: the adaptation of Matthew Quick’s novel The Silver Linings Playbook. Regular Russell collaborator Mark Wahlberg is already lined up to stat as a former teacher who suffers a breakdown after a nasty split with his wife. Following some time in an institution, he returns home, moves into his parents’ basement and begins to train himself to win his other half back. According to Vulture, Russell’s been talking to Jolie about the film.
But he’s also been on to Robert De Niro about it, which isn’t shocking, since he tried to line the actor up for Uncharted, too.In other Russell project news, the story mentioning De Niro's likely Silver Linings link also reveals that Russell’s looking to team up with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura for Colombian hostage drama The Mission and has romantic Western drama **T****wo Guns **plus at least one or two others in development. Here’s hoping he finds the time to do them all…