With his second feature Mojave under his belt, writer-director William Monahan (The Departed) has decided to return to the writer’s chair with an adaptation of Benjamin Black‘s novel “The Black-Eyed Blonde.” Variety now reports that producers Nickel City Pictures and Gary Levinson have found their lead in Liam Neeson, whose no stranger to the dark crime underworld. Neeson will star in Marlowe as the titular character Philip Marlowe of Raymond Chandler fame.
The character has a special set of skills that involve being restless and lonely until a beautiful woman shakes up the hard-bit private detectives world, sending him on a dark quest through a twisted mystery. You know, classic noir stuff with Liam Neeson. Scribe Monahan said:
The book by Benjamin Black was a pleasure to adapt, and with Marlowe there’s no chance of even being asked to do it left-handed. You have to do Chandler justice, carry a very particular flame, or stay homeIt’s hard to tell who has the more of a lion’s heart and soul, Philip Marlowe or Liam Neeson. I hope I’ve done the both of them and a picture I could not anticipate more some service.
In other news, Netflix has decided to continue its cinema-related domination by setting up its first animated feature, according to Deadline. The film, titled, America: The Motion Picture will trace a revisionist re-telling of the country’s founding, and will follow the recently popular trend of R-rated comedic fare that has made the likes of Deadpool and Sausage Party successful (I won’t touch on quality, though). Channing Tatum has signed on to voice George Washington, off a script penned by Dave Callaham (The Expendables 1 & 2, the story of the new Godzilla). Matt Thompson is set to direct.
Lastly, in related news, Variety reports that Netflix’s new film Set It Up has found its stars. Everybody Wants Some!! co-stars Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell are set for the romantic comedy that finds the duo as a pair of overworked assistants who try to get their respective bosses to get together as a means to get them off their backs. The script is penned by Katie Silberman and we’d expect the Claire Scanlon-directed film to arrive by next year after production kicks off this summer.