Luca Guadagnino has so many projects in development, too many to keep track of, that some were bound to get tossed out.
Just last month, Guadagnino had mentioned that he was no longer directing his Audrey Hepburn biopic, starring Rooney Mara. I was told, by that film’s producers, that the project is still very much happening, but with a new director.
In a new interview with The Hindu Times, Guadagnino says he is also no longer directing “Scarface,” which was based on a script by Joel and Ethan Coen. A real bummer since that was one of the more interesting projects he was working on.
The Coen screenplay has been floating around for over a decade now. Universal has the rights to this remake and I wouldn’t be surprised if another filmmaker has already been found to replace Guadagnino.
This will be the third major “Scarface” movie, after the 1932 Chicago-set version and Brian De Palma’s 1980 Miami film. The Coen screenplay has the story taking place in Los Angeles.
In that same Hindu Times interview, Guadagnino does mention a new film he’s working on — an adaptation of Louis Begley’s holocaust novel “Wartime Lies”.
The good news for Guadagnino fans is that he still has no shortage of projects currently in development. As mentioned in previous articles, Guadagnino has been very busy of late, including “Wartime Lies,” he has a total of six films he’s working on — two of them have already been shot and completed: “Challengers” is set for release next year and “Queer,” to be unveiled sometime in 2024, recently completed post-production work.
Guadagnino is also going to be directing Bret Easton Ellis’ “The Shards” for HBO. He swears a “Call Me By Your Name” sequel, with Armie Hammer and Timothee Chalamet, will happen. Finally, his upcoming adaptation of “The Lord of the Flies” is currently in pre-production mode.
I actually find that number optimistic. Tickets for “Digger” go on sale next Tuesday, and presales will give us a better picture of how bad it’s looking.