Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio have been planning a trip to Shutter Island for some time now – and today, they asked Mark Ruffalo to join them.
No, we haven’t stumbled upon the trio’s holiday plans – DiCaprio and Scorsese may be creatively tight, but we doubt very much that they’d holiday together and even if they did, they wouldn’t choose a remote island just outside of Boston as their destination.
No, instead, Shutter Island is the name of the next DiCaprio/Scorsese movie - based on the Dennis Lehane novel - in which Li’l Leo will play Teddy Daniels, a US Marshal who travels to the titular isle to track down Rachel Solando, a bonkers loony murderess who’s escaped from an asylum on the island. Only when he gets there, he finds more than he bargained for, in the shape of an incoming hurricane that causes the asylum’s remaining patients to riot – and all the while, Solando is out there, and something is not quite right at the hospital…
Ruffalo, a fine actor who can now add Scorsese to his list of A-List Directors I’ve Worked With Excel spreadsheet (a list that includes David Fincher, John Woo, Ang Lee, Michael Mann and, erm, Gary Winick), will play DiCaprio’s new partner, Chuck Aule. And the casting of such a prestigious actor indicates, and quite rightly, that Chuck is much more than your average second banana partner role. We can't go into details, sadly - spoilers abound!
Heck of a cast Marty’s assembling, though the Solando part has yet to be filled. With shooting beginning in March, we’re guessing that an announcement will be made sooner, rather than later.
Paramount and Columbia are splitting the costs on this one, while Mike Medavoy, Arnold Messer, Brad Fischer and Scorsese will all produce.
So far, each new Scorsese/DiCaprio picture has been better than the last, with The Departed representing their pinnacle thus far. Shutter Island could be their best yet.