With Felix Van Groeningen securing much acclaim, including a Best Foreign Film Oscar nomination, for The Broken Circle Breakdown, he’s now looking to team with one of Belgium’s rising stars for a new drama. According to Cineuropa, Matthias Schoenaerts will lead his next film, Belgica, which tells the true story of his father, who established a bar in Ghent with his brother, but then had to sell it. Production is expected to kick off this fall for the drama that’ll hopefully premiere by next year.
While The Monuments Men is currently in theaters, we’ve also got news of another project which deals with recovering famous art. Daily Mail reports that Helen Mirren is currently in talks to lead The Golden Lady, which find her taking on the real-life character of Maria Altmann, who, while in her 80’s attempts to track down five paintings looted by the Nazis. The most famous of the pieces is Gustav Klimt’s The Lady In Gold, Portrait Of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, which she (spoilers) finally received, along with the others, in 2006. Production is looking to kick off this summer under the director of Simon Curtis (My Week With Marilyn).
After ups and down when it came to finding a director for the Freddie Mercury biopic, a decision was made with Dexter Fletcher (Sunshine on Leith) and Ben Whishaw as the Queen frontman. Now, we’ve got another decision, as Daily Mail also reports that Johnny Flynn (Song One, Clouds of Sils Maria) has taken the role of drummer Roger Taylor. Based off a script by Peter Morgan – and featuring a number of Queen songs – the film, titled Mercury, will chronicle the rock supergroup’s formative years up until their famous 1985 Live Aid performance.
Which of the above projects are you most looking forward to?