Joe Wright

[MacGuffin]

Joe Wright to direct 'Indian Summer'
Universal, Working Title behind colonial drama
Source: Variety

LONDON -- "The Soloist" helmer Joe Wright will next direct "Indian Summer" for Working Title and Universal.

Project is based on the book of the same name by Alex von Tunzelmann about the last days of Britain's colonial rule in India and the symbolic end of Blighty's status as a world superpower.

William Nicholson ("Gladiator") is penning the screenplay. Working Title co-toppers Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan will produce alongside Hilary Bevan Jones ("The Boat That Rocked").

Lensing is set to begin early next year on location in India. No cast has been set.

Pic will follow the fateful events as Britain's Lord Mountbatten, with glamorous wife Edwina in tow, is sent to oversee the handover of power in the summer of 1947 to Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister.

"After making 'The Soloist' in L.A., I was looking for something that was primarily about the British experience," Wright told Daily Variety.

"Indian Summer" will mark Wright's fourth collaboration with Working Title and will be the first project the helmer will direct under a two-picture deal inked last year with the Brit production powerhouse and Universal.

Wright previously made his debut "Pride and Prejudice" and "Atonement" for the shingle. "The Soloist," which opens in the U.S. on April 24, is a Working Title co-production with DreamWorks.

[Sleepless]

Awesome. I know nothing about the book, but I think Joe Wright is a really interesting director. I loved what he did with 'Atonement,' and eagerly looking forward to 'The Soloist.' I like the fact that he's staying true to his British roots, and exploring aspects of British society and history, from a very British perspective. Depending on when this is released, it could be an interesting accompaniment to Clint Eastwood's 'The Human Factor,' as far as an examination of white colonization and racial prejudices. I'm excited. Add 'Indian Summer' to my must-read list.

[Sleepless]

NOT a remake of this:


Just read the description of the book on Amazon. All I can think is just how inefficient a film Slumdog Millionaire was in depicting any of the realism of India. All it was was whipping cameras and shit. THIS is going to be awesome.

The transfer of power from the British Empire to the new nations of India and Pakistan in the summer of 1947 was one of history's great, and tragic, epics: 400 million people won independence, and perhaps as many as one million died in sectarian violence among Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. In her scintillating debut, British author von Tunzelmann keeps one eye on the big picture, but foregrounds the personalities and relationships of the main political leaders—larger-than-life figures whom she cuts down to size. She portrays Gandhi as both awe inspiring and, with his antisex campaigns and inflexible moralism, an exasperating eccentric. British viceroy Louis Dickie Mountbatten comes off as a clumsy diplomat dithering over flag designs while his partition plan teetered on the brink of disaster. Meanwhile, his glamorous, omnicompetent wife, Edwina, looks after refugees and carries on an affair with the handsome, stalwart Indian statesman Nehru. Von Tunzelmann's wit is cruel—Gandhi... wanted to spread the blessings of poverty and humility to all people—but fair in its depictions of complex, often charismatic people with feet of clay. The result is compelling narrative history, combining dramatic sweep with dishy detail.

[MacGuffin]

Joe Wright in talks to direct assassin girl 'Hanna'
Source: Hollywood Reporter

"Atonement" helmer Joe Wright is in talks to direct Focus Features' action-adventure thriller "Hanna." Marty Adelstein and Scott Nemes are producing.

The project has garnered considerable attention in director circles since getting set up at Focus in 2007, with Danny Boyle kicking its tires as a directing vehicle at one point and Alfonso Cuaron circling it in recent weeks.   

The project is described as having shades of "La Femme Nikita" and the "Bourne" movies. The story centers on a 14-year-old Eastern European girl who has been raised by her father to be a cold-blooded killing machine. She connects with a French family, forms a friendship with their daughter and goes through the pangs of adolescence. When the girl is dragged back to her father's world and discovers that she was bred as a killing machine in a CIA prison camp, she must fight her way to a free life.

Seth Lochhead and David Farr worked on the script.

Wright was due to direct period love story "Indian Summer," starring Cate Blanchett, for Working Title and Universal. But as the project's budget rose, and with the conditions for upscale adult dramas not favorable, the makers opted to put the project on hold.

"Hanna" would mark CAA-repped Wright's first foray into the action realm after making such dramas as "Atonement," "The Soloist" and "Pride & Prejudice."

[MacGuffin]

Saoirse Ronan to play teenage assassin 'Hanna'
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Saoirse Ronan is in negotiations to reteam with her "Atonement" director Joe Wright to star as the title character in "Hanna," Focus' tale of a teenage assassin.

"Hanna" is described as having shades of "La Femme Nikita" and the "Bourne" movies.

The story follows a 14-year-old Eastern European girl (Ronan) who has been raised by her father to be a cold-blooded killing machine. She connects with a French family, forms a friendship with their daughter and goes through the pangs of adolescence. When the girl is dragged back to her father's world and discovers that she was bred as a killing machine in a CIA prison camp, she must fight her way to a free life.

Leslie Holleran, Marty Adelstein and Scott Nemes are producing.

Seth Lochhead and David Farr worked on the script.

Ronan, repped by CAA and Talent Management Group, stars in Peter Jackson's "The Lovely Bones."

[Stefen]

"Hanna" is described as having shades of "La Femme Nikita" and the "Bourne" movies.

Yes, please.

[matt35mm]

That makes me think of Alias, but younger and European.  I seem to remember a plotline in Alias where Sydney remembers through hypnosis that her dad trained her to be a super spy.

[modage]

Yeah I don't know why but I kinda love this idea/casting/director.

[polkablues]

Despite The Soloist being so boring, Joe Wright is definitely a guy who knows where to point the camera.  I'll give him the benefit of the doubt 9 out of 10 times (the 10th being The Soloist).

[john]

Everything Joe Wright has done so far has been tedious, well produced Lifetime movies. His technical competency doesn't cover up the fact that he's fucking boring.

This seems interesting, though. Both in premise and casting. Despite a few nice shots, the only tolerable thing about Atonement was Saoirse Ronan.

[Stefen]

He makes very proper movies.

[pete]

he's a step below that; ron howard's at least engaging with good stories.

[Stefen]

Proper dog finds Joe Wright's films emotionally taut and entertainingly thought provoking.

[Gold Trumpet]

I like Joe Wright. No comment on Soloist and Pride and Prejudice does all that it can with the novel, but Atonement still continues to stir my imagination. He may have been just lifting themes out of a novel, but I respect it more and more because it was publicized to satisfy on the level of Pride and Prejudice but it takes fascinating left turns everywhere. 6 months ago I was struck when I had to explain my take on the film to someone and I kept comparing it to Full Metal Jacket, but the structural intricacies do warrant the comparison. The structure of Full Metal Jacket is its best feature, but Atonement goes further and touches on more things. I need to revisit it yet again because I remember respecting it on first viewing, but lukewarm period films since have definitely propelled it in my mind.

[polkablues]

His Pride and Prejudice is a really astounding piece of pop cinema.  It simply hits every right note, and he's the first director to actually find a real film in a Jane Austen novel.  Every prior attempt seems like actors playing dress-up in the garden by comparison.  And I don't think there's anything proper or tedious about the thing.