Director Shane Carruth will not sellout to any Hollywood studios; despite being heralded to the heavens for his 2004 sci-fi experiment "Primer" and his 2013 masterwork "Upstream Color," the filmmaker can't seem to get funding going for his next project "The Modern Ocean."
Carruth wants to make films by his own rules, his own artistic merits, which is why he's already had one project shelved and never released, "A Topiary." You can now add "The Modern Ocean" as the second victim, for now.
As he was doing press for Bill Senese’s “The Dead Center,” in which Carruth has a role, he was asked about "Modern Ocean" by [via Indiewire] and replied: “Only word is that it’s not gonna happen anytime soon… I really can’t say much [about what I’m doing next]. I’m doing a lot of writing; there are multiple projects, but I don’t have anything interesting to say.”
Anne Hathaway, Keanu Reeves, Daniel Radcliffe, Jeff Goldblum, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Tom Holland were all set to star in the film.
The synopsis we were sent was this: “the competition for valuable shipping routes, the search for the hidden cache of priceless material and the powerful need for vengeance will converge in a spectacular battle on the rolling decks of behemoth cargo ships.”
Carruth, unsurprisingly, shot down the idea of ever doing a superhero film, saying: “It’s not something I’m interested in doing.”
It has been five years since Carruth released his last film “Upstream Color. “The Modern Ocean” has been in development for at least three years. I honestly don't know why this guy can't get another indie funded. He did "Primer" for $8,000 and Upstream Color for $50,000. Is he just too toxic for the mainstream? Do Hollywood producers think he just can't cut it as a filmmaker that can make them back their money? It's a pathetic state of affairs.
Previously:
Tom Holland Says Shane Carruth’s ‘The Modern Ocean’ Is the Best Script He’s Ever Read [04/2017]
WME Signs ‘Upstream Color’ Helmer Shane Carruth And Dive Into ‘The Modern Ocean’ [09/2015]
Paul Greengrass’ "The Uprising," starring Andrew Garfield, opened to $3.2M from 2,068 theaters this weekend. Yikes. The budget hasn’t been disclosed, but is said to be in the $20-$30M range.