Where Martin Scorsese and Michael Mann almost went, William Friedkin now heads. Per Deadline, we’ve learned the director will follow Killer Joe by adapting Don Winslow‘s crime novel The Winter of Frankie Machine, which has been in development for a number of years but, now, may have a set-in-stone path: along with Friedkin in the director’s chair, the author is looking to write (or at least co-write) the screenplay.
We can then assume that it, like the book, follows Frankie Machianno, a retired mob killer (formerly known as “Frankie Machine”) who believes he’s been brought back for one last job (you know how it is), but is in fact targeted by fellow mobsters. People are killed along the way, and Friedkin will tackle this material with the down-and-dirty character that marked his last feature. With a lower budget — very likely because of what he’s even able to get –– being planned and a Hollywood-friendly author by his side, one thinks this might get going soon. Will he get Walton Goggins or Matthew McConaughey, his desired star? One can only hope.
Deadline also tell us Greta Gerwig is finally stepping behind the camera. After years of close collaboration with directors such as Joe Swanberg and Noah Baumbach, the indie figurehead is partnering with Scott Rudin to helm her own screenplay, Lady Bird, “the story of a young woman’s last year spent in Sacramento.” That’s as far as their report goes, but no matter: perhaps the picture — in terms of narrative and, of course, whatever she brings in this new role (all while shooting in her hometown) — will offer many of its pleasures via discovery. Being a fan of her work as a writer and performer, I’m immediately intrigued.