Todd Solondz’s supposedly next film, “Love Child,” starring Elizabeth Olsen and Charles Melton, was supposed to shoot in the summer and that clearly hasn’t materialized. What gives?
It turns out that Solondz was all prepared to board a plane and shoot it in Spain, just a mere “weeks away,” and then “the plan collapsed.” The clearly frustrated filmmaker told The New Yorker that if he doesn’t get to make “Love Child” then he will “never make another movie” again.
Olsen is now venting her own frustrations about the failed project. When asked by Vulture about the status of “Love Child,” the actress confessed that the film is currently “having a hard time getting made” (via The Playlist).
“There’s so many things I could say about that in private. It really comes down to having really responsible budgets,” said Olsen. “But not every movie can be made with favors for crews, right? You can’t ask crews to be paid a really shitty wage. So I don’t know. I find it all to be really frustrating right now, specifically for film.”
“Love Child” tackles a “precocious, conniving 11-year-old named Junior, who wants to be on Broadway and is maniacally obsessed with his mother.” It’s been in development for almost 10 years now, and the cast keeps changing; at some point, Penelope Cruz was set to star in the Olsen role.
In a recent interview with RTL, Solondz stated he left his teaching gig at New York University to make this film, adding that it would be his “most audience friendly” and “commercial” film.
“Love Child” was supposed to be Solondz’ first film since 2016’s “Wiener-Dog.” In fact, he’s only helmed six films in his three-decade spanning career.
As it stands, his best films are still his first three: 1996’s “Welcome to the Dollhouse,” 1998’s “Happiness” and 2001’s “Storytelling.” They were darkly twisted satires on modern American life that defied the boundaries of socially acceptable behavior.