I think we can all (or at least, most of us) agree Rosamund Pike was more than deserving of an Oscar on Sunday for her performance in Gone Girl. Julianne Moore is a very good actor, but this was no competition. Thankfully, her performance let filmmakers see all the talent they could mine from her, which we can hope means great roles moving forward.
One potentially great role is in the adaptation of John D. MacDonald‘s 1964 novel The Deep Blue Good-by, the first of twenty-one novels featuring the character Travis McGee, who will be played by Christian Bale. James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line) will direct a script by Dennis Lehane, with the most recent draft by Scott Frank.
[amz asin=”B009FKTTMQ” size=”small”]No matter what the material is, if you put Bale and Pike in a film together, I will be there opening day. Those are two tremendous actors, and I am very excited to see them play against each other. I wouldn’t consider Mangold a great director, but he is a good one. If he just lets his actors play, I think we will be in good hands.
Here’s the book synopsis:
Travis McGee is a self-described beach bum who won his houseboat in a card game. He’s also a knight-errant who’s wary of credit cards, retirement benefits, political parties, mortgages, and television. He only works when his cash runs out, and his rule is simple: He’ll help you find whatever was taken from you, as long as he can keep half.
McGee isn’t particularly strapped for cash, but how can anyone say no to Cathy, a sweet backwoods girl who’s been tortured repeatedly by her manipulative ex-boyfriend Junior Allen? What Travis isn’t anticipating is just how many women Junior has torn apart and left in his wake. Enter Junior’s latest victim, Lois Atkinson.
Frail and broken, Lois can barely get out of bed when Travis finds her, let alone keep herself alive. But Travis turns into Mother McGee, giving Lois new life as he looks for the ruthless man who steals women’s spirits and livelihoods. But he can’t guess how violent his quest is soon to become. He’ll learn the hard way that there must be casualties in this game of cat and mouse.
Original report from Variety.
