Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, his first film based on a children’s book and his first foray into 3-D, arrives in theaters this Thanksgiving. Bets are now being taken on what he will direct next.
According to Variety, he is “seriously considering” jumping on another bandwagon — Scandinavian crime fiction, in the form of Jo Nesbo’s The Snowman (Knopf, May, 2011), book #7 in the Norwegian author’s Harry Hole series.
It won’t be the first adaptation of a Nesbo title. A Norwegian-language film based on Nesbo’s standalone, Headhunters recently broke Scandinavian box office records (explaining why the cover of the U.S. edition, released in Sept., bears the words “Now a Major Motion Picture”). Summit is planning on an English-language version of Headhunters, following in the footsteps of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which was originally adapted into a Swedish-language film, followed by David Fincher’s English-language version coming Dec. 21.
Scorsese, however, has many possible upcoming projects, most of them based on books:
Furious Love – based on the book about the Burton/Taylor love affair by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger (Harper, 2010). Deadline reported in June that Paramount was finalizing a a deal to produce the movie, with Scorsese directing.
The Irishman – based on “I Heard You Paint Houses”: Frank “the Irishman” Sheeran and Closing the Case of Jimmy Hoffa by Charles Brandt (Steerforth, 2004). Back in March, stories quoted Robert De Niro saying he was “fully committed” to starring in this movie, along with Joe Pesci and Al Pacino. No news since, however.
The Gambler – based on the novella by Fyodor Dostoevsky. The film journal, The Moving Arts, recently published a story about Scorsese’s fascination with the Russian writer (Taxi Driver, “clearly owes [a debt] to Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment and, more notably, Notes from the Underground“). In August, Deadline wrote that Leonardo Di Caprio was set to star (and mistakenly referred to it as a remake of the 1974 movie of the same title starring James Caan).
Silence – In February, The Playlist confidently proclaimed this would be Scorsese’s next film after Hugo, calling it the director’s “passion project that’s been percolating since early 2006.” Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio Del Toro were attached to star. It’s based on the Japanese writer, Shusaku Endo’s 1966 novel Chinmoku. The 1980 English translation, titled Silence, is still in print.
The Wolf of Wall Street – based on the memoir by Jordan Belfort (Bantam, 2007), head of a notorious investment firm in the 1990′s. In May, it was announced that, after a long delay, the movie was back on track again, to star Di Caprio, but it would have to wait until the actor completed filming of The Great Gatsby with Baz Luhrman.
Sinatra – the one directorial project Scorsese is attached to that is NOT based on a book (although he was once planning to direct a film based on Nick Tosches’s book about Dean Martin, Dino). No news on this one since March.
Many have tried, and most have failed, to predict what Scorsese will tackle next. Rather than joining that pointless exercise, tell us, which would you most like to see him do?
Our vote? Furious Love. Angelina Jolie was once rumored for the role of Elizabeth Taylor. How about Scorsese’s favorite actor, Di Caprio, for Burton?
