HOLY FUCK. Robert Redford Teams With 'Ain't Them Bodies Saints' Filmmaker for Crime Drama (Exclusive)Source:
THRDavid Lowery will write and direct the film, which is based on a 2003 New Yorker article.
Lowery is attached to adapt and direct The Old Man and the Gun, based on a 2003 New Yorker article written by David Grann.
Redford is attached to star and will produce the adaptation with Bill Holderman and Conde Nast.
Old Man tells the true story of Forrest Tucker, a man born in 1920 who, as a lifelong bankrobber, spent most of his life in jail or escaping from jail. (He had 18 escapes under his belt, including one from Alcatraz and one from San Quentin.)
The article focused on Tucker at the age of 78, living in a retirement community with his third wife, and still having the hankering to rob banks. In fact, he was caught by police after a robbery in a high-speed chase in 2000 and sentenced to 13 years. He died in 2005.
Lowery’s take focuses on a specific time period in Tucker's life, although details were not revealed.
The project has fascinated Hollywood over the last decade. It was at one point set up at Warner Bros. and had Wolfgang Petersen as board as a director. It was also previously being developed by producer Anthony Mastromauro.
Redford has his thriller The Company You Keep, which he directed and stars in with Shia LaBeouf, out in limited release from Sony Pictures Classics. And just last week he began production on his first comic book movie, Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Redford is repped by WME and Jackoway Tyerman.
Old Man serves as Lowery’s first move on the directing front since Saints’ Sundance debut. The film, which starred Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara, was a crime drama that also dealt with an escaped outlaw and his relationships. It was described by critics as a crime saga by way of an art film, with THR’s Todd McCarthy comparing the director to Terrence Malick.
Lowery, who has also recently booked a gig to re-imagine Pete’s Dragon for Disney, is repped by WME and Frankfurt Kurnit.
