Remember when it seemed like James Marsden was going to be a much bigger star than he has become? After the X-Men movies and his awesome role in Enchanted, I expected him to shoot up into the stratosphere. And then…it didn’t happen. Instead, 27 Dresses did. And this weekend, Hop will be ushered into theaters so that parents worldwide can find a good enough distraction to not have to talk to their kids.
Crappy kids movie aside, it looks like Marsden isn’t ready to just get sucked into the vacuum of generic films quite yet. Deadline reports that the actor will be playing famous cult leader (and decent musician) Charles Manson in The Dead Circus. The movie, written by Adam Davenport and John Kaye (who also wrote the novel), fictionalizes the very real and very mysterious death of singer Bobby Fuller, throwing in the Manson family as part of the conspiracy for giggles. Fuller was 23 when he released the hit “I Fought the Law” in 1966, but never got to enjoy the success as he was found dead a week later. It was ruled a suicide, but the body was found battered and with gasoline poured down his mouth which I would assume would scream “just kidding on the suicide, folks”.
If the movie follows the book closely, The Dead Circus will follow a police detective many years later who, dealing with the death of his wife, throws himself into the years-old case of Fuller. With the help of a former Manson Family member who’s trying to put her past behind her, he finds out that the mystery of Fuller’s death may be solvable if he can find a series of snuff films the Family shot back in the 60’s, which have been buried in Death Valley, California.
Melissa Leo is signed on to play the detective’s ex-Manson Family helper and Michael C. Hall is also attached to play Fuller’s shady wheelchair-bound manager. Michael Shannon had also been attached, but his reps told Deadline he’s just too busy being creepy in other things. No word on who’d play the detective or anyone else just yet, but that’s a pretty decent cast lined up so far.
This sounds like an interesting idea, and I may pick up the book just to see exactly where this would be going. The Dead Circus could also be Marsden’s shot at obtaining some better and more fulfilling roles if he nails his portrayal of Manson out of the park. He has the talent and best of all he won’t have a CGI Easter Bunny that poops jelly beans to drag him down this time. At least I hope not, but you can never tell in Hollywood these days.
The Dead Circus is currently seeking financing with eyes on starting production this summer in Los Angeles.
What do you think of the cast? Are you looking forward to the film?