In a new interview with The Sunday Times of London, Martin Scorsese says that his adaptation of David Grann’s “The Wager” is going to be his next film.
Grann had said the same thing in August, his book would be adapted in a feature length film by Apple, directed by Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and that it would be coming soon.
Grann’s non-fiction book, “The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder,” had been recently adapted by Scorsese into a screenplay. Here’s a synopsis of Grann’s story:
Set in the 1740s, Wager’s story is set in motion when a patched-together boat with 30 emaciated men landed on the coast of Brazil. The men were the surviving crew of British ship that was chasing a Spanish vessel and had crashed onto an island in South America’s Patagonia region. Their tales of surviving the seas and elements made them heroes. However, six months later another vessel, even more beat up than the first one, ended up on the coat of Chile, this one with three men. These new sailors charged that the other men were actually mutineers.
A backup option for Scorsese, if “The Wager” doesn’t pan out, might be a film titled “Home,” an adaptation of Marilynne Robinson’s novel, which Scorsese has worked on with “TAR” filmmaker Todd Field, and then Kent Jones, prior to the WGA strike.
Scorsese again mentions “Home” in the Times interview. A film that, on the surface, looks like a smaller production than he’s been known in undertaking. Its a fairly religious subject matter about a family in 1960s Iowa,” but Scorsese says don’t be fooled by the vastness he might bring to the story:
“In production terms, yes [it’s smaller than usual]— but it’s deceptive. I think, internally, it may be bigger.” He guffaws.
Finally Scorsese again tackles his mortality and the work that continuously drives him — “I don’t want to slow down,” he says emphatically. “At my age, your body tells you at a certain point you need to pace yourself, but I’m still searching for, as I mentioned earlier, the answer to how we take care of each other. I thought that my films should reflect that.” He smiles. “I have tried the best that I can.”