With an Oscar nomination under his belt for Foxcatcher, Steve Carell seems primed to tackle more challenging material. He’s now closing a deal to star in Marwencol for Robert Zemeckis.
The new film will adapt the 2010 documentary of the same name, which charts the recovery of Mark Hogancamp, who suffered severe brain trauma when he was beaten by five teenagers and ended up in a coma for nine days.
When he emerged, he had no memory of his life, his friends and his family. As a form of therapy, he began building a 1/6 scale model of a World War II-era Belgian village named 'Marwencol' in his backyard, replete with figures made in the image of him, his friends, and, shockingly to some, his attackers. While the process mended his mind to a certain extent, it also let him escape into a fantasy world in which he created various scenarios with the dolls.
Jeff Malmberg directed the original version, which was praised by critics and scored a gong at the 2011 Indie spirit awards. The Nightmare Before Christmas writer Caroline Thompson is at work on the script for Universal, which is looking for a film that will mix reality and fantasy.
Carell is currently filming Adam McKay’s new film The Big Short, which is not, despite the presence of the Anchorman director, a story about Brick Tamland’s IQ but follows the men who made millions during the global economic crisis. He’s also recently worked on equal marriage rights drama Freeheld.