Bombastic filmmaker Lee Daniels earned worldwide praise last year for his unflinchingly dark urban drama Precious Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. So with a new and seemingly devoted fan following, Daniels has been aiming high for his next venture with his signature level of modesty in tact. First came reports that Daniels wanted to remake the classic Federico Fellini film Nights of Cabiria, and now THR is dropping word that Daniels has his eye on adapting the Pulitzer-Prize winning Broadway play Anna in the Tropics, which centers on a family of cigar rollers in 1920s Tampa and the influence literature has on their lives.
Currently signed on to direct, Daniels will develop the screenplay alongside the play’s author, Nilo Cruz, who is eager to adapt the Anna Karenina-inspired tale. “I always saw it as a film,” says Cruz. “Even though I wrote is as a play, I just think it has endless possibilities as a film. The play itself is full of images and I want to open it up to the world film offers.” As far as working with the oft outspoken Daniels, Cruz seems thrilled, “I loved his use of fantasy and quotidian life in Precious. It was a wonderful combination. I think my piece also deals with similar level of reality.” The two will meet in January to begin their collaboration.
I have to admit, I don’t share Cruz’s enthusiasm as Daniel’s track record is all over the place. After producing the challenging dramas Monster’s Ball and The Woodsman, Daniels tried his hand at directing with the nearly universally critically panned Cuba Gooding Jr. thriller Shadowboxer. (Lou Lumenick, film critic from The New York Post dubbed it “the worst movie of the century.”) After this huge setback, Daniel’s plugged along to make his dream project, and ultimately triumphed with the melodrama Precious, garnering boatloads of praise and even Oscar nods. And now with his reputation as a film director on the rise, Daniels wants to remake classic Italian cinema and adapt a hit Broadway show. These both seem like a big step for a director who has helmed one blistering failure and one successful low budget feature. I got to say, I’m not optimistic.
Are you looking forward to Lee’s proposed projects?