Years back, I remember first hearing about The Score. A movie was being made with Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, and Edward Norton, and while I was still in junior high school and considered Gone in Sixty Seconds to be a masterpiece of modern cinema, just thinking about the possibility of these three on screen together was enough to make my pecker flutter. Granted, it didn’t take much back then, but I understood what was about to happen: the greatest movie of all time was about to be made. Three of the greatest actors of their respective generations coming together for a heist film directed by Frank Oz! Mother of God.
Then I went and saw it in the theater, and while I did enjoy it, I left the theater disappointed. Even my thirteen year old self, who rented movies like Ice Cream Man and enjoyed them, felt that it was mediocre at best. I was expecting something on the level of Heat. Or The Godfather. So, needless to say, I’ve always felt I’d love to see these guys (minus Brando, of course) team back up and give us the movie that we never got.
Well, maybe, just maybe, we’re about it get it.
According to those rascals over at Coming Soon, De Niro and Norton are set to star in Stone, directed by none other than John Curran. Based on a play by Junebug screenwriter Angus MacLachlan, the film will follow a blossoming friendship between a parole officer (De Niro) and a teaching assistant (Norton). Filming on it is going to start as early as next month.
Besides the fact that I’ve been a devout fan of both these guys for a long, long time now, I’m doubly pumped, because John Curran is a hell of a director. We Don’t Live Here Any More, his 2004 film starring Mark Ruffalo and Naomi Watts, was a solid little picture and The Painted Veil is sickeningly underappreciated. I recommend that movie every chance I get, so if you haven’t watched it, rent it now. Also, with What Just Happened and his upcoming Everybody’s Fine with Sam Rockwell, De Niro might finally be working himself out of the slump that he has been in for so long, no?
I’m with you on the “sickeningly underappreciated” thought toward The Painted Veil that said, it’s not a film that will appeal to everyone (Merchant Ivory all the way) but agreed – I love it.
I’ll see anything with Norton so I’m there.
My $.02 = I too liked The Painted Veil quite a lot.
As for Norton, Pride and Glory is the only gap I have in his filmography. Which will be remedied soon on an “on the road” segment in an upcoming Cinecast.
pride & glory was not bad. it was average.
Pride & Glory was filmed from an awful, generic script, but it is worth watching for Farrell and Norton. They’re spectacular, given the material – and the fight near the end kicks ass.
I’m with all of you on this one. I’m a Norton fanboy. He’s solid in everything. When is his imagining of ‘Motherless Brooklyn’ coming out?
Oh, probably never. He keeps putting that aside. He should have spent his time doing Hulk instead working on Motherless Brooklyn. But hey, I guess he does movies like Hulk so he can do projects like Motherless Brooklyn.
read that book. it was really good. didn’t necessarily picture anyone like Norton in my head, but i think he would do a good job with it.