Debuting his first directorial effort Margin Call at Sundance this year seems to have been a smart move for J. C. Chandor, not least because he caught the eye of festival kingpin Robert Redford. The pair are currently having some serious discussions about collaborating on Chandor's next film **All Is Lost.
Margin Call was set in the financial sector during the recent economic meltdown, but All Is Lost, if he signs on, will possibly see Redford swimming with sharks of a different kind. Described as a "man vs. nature" drama, it sounds like it's almost a one-man show, taking place entirely on the water. Apparently a "touchstone" for the film is Sydney Pollack's classic 70s western Jeremiah Johnson (which also starred Redford), but it doesn't sound as if All Is Lost will involve fighting grizzly bears or members of the Crow Nation.
Like Margin Call, All Is Lost will be set up by Zachary Quinto's company Before The Door, and the production is looking at Baja Film Studios in Mexico, which holds the ginormous water tank used by James Cameron for Titanic and Michael Bay for Pearl Harbour.
Chandor wrote the screenplay specifically for Redford, so if he's to keep his dream star, he may have to wait until Redford has finished with The Company You Keep before he can get started. Shooting is currently pencilled in for next May. Redford was also planning A Walk In The Woods with Nick Nolte, but since he's been trying to set that up since 2005, we guess it can wait a while longer.
Margin Call is out in the UK on January 13.