Right from the start with “Super Size Me,” Morgan Spurlock announced himself as a documentary filmmaker for whom no gimmick would be too slight to base a movie on. Unfortunately, this had led a string of mostly forgettable flicks including “Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden?” (the title is self-explanatory, and spoiler, he didn’t find him) and “Mansome” (about being manly). I had sort of long since given up on expecting anything halfway serious from the director, but now comes a bit of surprise project, which is certainly promising.
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THR reports that Spurlock has signed up to helm a biopic about famed Hollywood superagent Sue Mengers, based on the book “Can I Go Now?: The Life Of Sue Mengers, Hollywood’s First Superagent.” She was one of the biggest movers and shakers of the ’60s and ’70s, counting Barbra Streisand, Ryan O’Neal, Faye Dunaway, Michael Caine, Cher, Steve McQueen, Brian De Palma, Gena Hackman, Candice Bergen and many more among her clients, with a personality to go with being one of the most important players in the industry. Here’s the book synopsis:
A lively and colorful biography of Hollywood’s first superagent—one of the most outrageous showbiz characters of the 1960s and 1970s whose clients included Barbra Streisand, Ryan O’Neal, Faye Dunaway, Michael Caine, and Candice Bergen
Before Sue Mengers hit the scene in the mid-1960s, talent agents remained quietly in the background. But staying in the background was not possible for Mengers. Irrepressible and loaded with chutzpah, she became a driving force of Creative Management Associates (which later became ICM) handling the era’s preeminent stars.
A true original with a gift for making the biggest stars in Hollywood listen to hard truths about their careers and personal lives, Mengers became a force to be reckoned with. Her salesmanship never stopped. In 1979, she was on a plane that was commandeered by a hijacker, who wanted Charlton Heston to deliver a message on television. Mengers was incensed, wondering why the hijacker wanted Heston, when she could get him Barbra Streisand.
Acclaimed biographer Brian Kellow spins an irresistible tale, exhaustively researched and filled with anecdotes about and interviews more than two hundred show-business luminaries. A riveting biography of a powerful woman that charts show business as it evolved from New York City in the 1950s through Hollywood in the early 1980s, Can I Go Now? will mesmerize anyone who loves cinema’s most fruitful period.
Spurlock will co-write the script with his longtime collaborator Jeremy Chilnick, and while there’s no word yet on who will play Mengers, we’ll hear your suggestions in the comments section.