While James Gray has already completed shooting his next film, “Paper Tiger,” which may premiere at Cannes this year, he is now preparing his subsequent project.
Here’s TheInSneider reporting that Gray is set to adapt Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises,” with Oscar-nominated actress Vanessa Kirby attached to star.
“The Sun Also Rises” depicts a group of American and British expatriates struggling with loss and disillusionment in Europe following World War I. The story moves from Paris to Pamplona, Spain, centering on Jake Barnes, a journalist whose war injury has left him impotent, and his complicated romantic relationship with Lady Brett Ashley (Kirby).
Although “The Sun Also Rises” was adapted into a film in 1957, it is rarely revisited, largely because its emotional weight comes from quiet, internal conflicts rather than overt drama. Hemingway’s minimalist style has long been difficult to translate to the screen. It will be interesting to see how Gray handles Jake Barnes’s impotence, a central element of the novel that is challenging to portray without heavy exposition.
That said, Gray has earned trust as a filmmaker. Casting Kirby, who received an Oscar nomination for “Pieces of a Woman,” is an encouraging start, though she will hardly be the only major player. The story is very much an ensemble piece, and Gray is likely in the midst of assembling the rest of the cast.
Gray, 56, has cultivated a devoted following and is admired for his classically influenced style, which evokes cinema’s golden eras. While he has never been a consistent mainstream favorite, he has earned steady critical acclaim—particularly in France—allowing him to sustain a career defined by artistic ambition and emotional depth.
A Queens native, Gray can be hit or miss, but when he’s at his best, films like “Two Lovers”—arguably his finest work—and “The Lost City of Z” reveal a rare, haunting beauty in every frame. Up next is “Paper Tiger,” starring Scarlett Johansson, Miles Teller, and Adam Driver, and rumored for a summer release.