The triple factor of the Oliver Stone/Antoine Fuqua project Escobar, Chris Pine turning down White Jazz to ‘boldy go where Shatner has been before’ and George Clooney’s busy schedule has almost forced Joe Carnahan to give up on White Jazz for a while and focus on his movie based on Columbian drug leader Pablo Escobar titled Killing Pablo.
This could well be the start of a fascinating duel between two different studio’s and film-makers. This comes from Smokin’ Joe’s blog..
Might be going to Colombia as early as THIS WEEK. Major, major
casting news coming in the next two weeks (hopefully after Thanksgiving)
so it looks like this one might be ramping up faster than I thought possible.
Had a big dinner last night with all the major foreign film buyers and I think
they’re all wanting to back ‘KILLING PABLO’ because they love the script
and the material it’s based on. It doesn’t hurt that KP was a massive bestseller
and everybody sees the upside to doing a film with the author of ‘Black Hawk
Down’ which made a couple of bucks at the box-office a few years back.It was a great dinner and led to the obvious: It’s time to hit Colombia and hit
it hard…Updates to follow.
If he doesn’t do the movie now, he may never make Killing Pablo and that would be a crying shame as it has been the one project he has been desperate to do for years.
No word if the movie goes ahead early next year whether that will effect either Javier Bardem’s (as Columbian drug cartel leader Pablo Escobar) or Christian Bale’s (as the cop who tries to take him down) involvement in the film.
Bale should be ok… his slate is 100% clean for next year at the moment.
Though his casting comment could hint that he the change of filming dates has meant he has had to look elsewhere.
One Comment
I think this is a smart move for Carnahan. He’s one of if not my favorite filmmaker. But between the changes he was making to White Jazz (making the central family Mexican instead of Armenian, like in the novel) and Warner Brothers refusing to allow the film rights for the Edmund Exley character, I was starting to become a little concerned for how this was going to turn out. Even in the hands of skilled directors it’s extremely hard to get an Ellroy novel right. I was worried Joe might have inadvertently drifted into a disadvantageous place. And then with the chaotic cast developments…my hopes for WJ were beginning to fade.
He needed a production that he could actually control.
Antoine Fuqua and Oliver Stone can’t possibly get Pablo right. After Nixon and Alexander I don’t really trust Stone to do another biopic. Joe was BORN to make Killing Pablo, check out what he did with NARC. So for me this a sad, but ultimately advatageous development. Stop playing the White Jazz, and let’s Kill Pablo instead!