With rumors swirling last year that In the Bedroom‘s Todd Field would finally be making his long-awaited return to the directing chair with the Christian Bale-led The Creed of Violence, one can easily see that won’t be the case . Thankfully, he’s readying another project and already has his lead actress attached.
As reported on this past spring, his Little Children follow-up will be an adaptation of Jess Walter‘s Beautiful Ruins, which begins coastal Italy circa 1962 and jumps into modern Hollywood. Variety now reports that Imogen Poots is aboard the project, presumably leading as Dee Moray, an American actress who’s recently finished work on the Rome set of Cleopatra, only to find herself in the (fictional) area of Porto Vergogna, whereat she meets a hard-working, smitten man named Pasquale Tursi. The action then shifts to a reality TV developer, Claire Silver, who is told Dee’s story from her producer boss, setting her off on a journey to find out whatever happened.
Jumping back and forth between different time periods and settings, it’s easily Field’s most ambitious project in his relatively short directorial career. This would also make a substantial leading role for Poots, an up-and-coming actress who has caught our eye, but has yet to truly be in the spotlight. Although there’s no word when production will begin, let’s hope Field can kick this off sooner rather than later, since we’ve been missing his voice on the big screen.
Update: Production begins in May on location in Italy.
Have you read the novel? Can you see Poots in the lead role?