It was just a few months ago that Robert Zemeckis told Marc Maron’s WTF Podcast, that he had no projects lined up due to the to the industry being in total creative turmoil:
Things are slow […] There’s a strange thing happening that I’ve never seen before which is that nobody is in a hurry to make anything [..] I think nobody knows what to do. What do you make? What do you do?
During the chat, Zemeckis went on to talk about some of his “classic” films, which include “Forrest Gump,” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” “Back to the Future,” “Contact,” and “Cast Away.” The filmmaker considered himself lucky to have lived during a time when original films could still entice audiences, believing that none of his classic films would have been made in today’s climate:
The truth is that all of the movies you just listed; I wouldn’t be able to make any of them today. Making “Here” is a miracle. It’s a “comp” as we say in the industry. It’s tough to get them greenlit.
Well, plot twist, Zemeckis has found his next project, and it’s a Netflix original. Sources tell Deadline that Zemeckis has come aboard to direct an adaptation of “The Last Mrs. Parrish” with Jennifer Lopez set to star.
Andrea Berloff and Oscar-nominee John Gatins are penning the script. The exciting part? This marks a reunion for Zemeckis and Gatins, who previously collaborated on “Flight,” which earned Denzel Washington a well-deserved Oscar nomination for his lead role.
Based on the novel by Liv Constantine, the story centers on a con artist (Lopez) who sets her sights on a wealthy couple — the Parrishes — as her next mark. She worms her way into their lives by befriending the wife and seducing the husband, all in a calculated bid to become the next “Mrs. Parrish.” But her plan takes a turn when she realizes the wife’s seemingly perfect life is more twisted than she ever anticipated.
Despite the aforementioned classics he directed, Zemeckis has become a very hit and miss filmmaker. There have been some well-received films (“Flight,” “The Walk,”) but also plenty of duds (“Welcome to Marwen,” “The Polar Express,” “Beowulf,” “Pinocchio,” “The Witches,” “A Christmas Carol”).
Zemeckis is coming off last year’s Tom Hanks starring “Here,” which, badly hurt by negative reviews, ended up only making $12M during its theatrical run. The budget was $60M. However, since its release, there’s been a subculture who have attempted to reappraise the film as some kind of masterpiece. I’m not part of that herd.
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.