Anthony Hopkins works a lot, and often his heart isn’t in it. But how can you really hate the guy? He’s a pro in everything, and his presence is undeniable, his delivery one of the very best in Hollywood. And so there’s something fitting about the Oscar-winning legend climbing into some very massive shoes, as the actor isin talks to play Alfred Hitchcock in “Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho.”
Hopkins, who was once attached to a previous iteration of the film from director Ryan Murphy (“Eat Pray Love“) would play Hitchcock at a career crossroads — the filmmaker had fallen out of favor with audiences and didn’t want to make “Psycho” at the time, believing it to be a low-rent horror beneath his talents — insisting he tackle the garish subject material despite no studio wanting to go near it (“Psycho” obviously revitalized Hitchcock’s career and now is a horror touchstone). Yesterday, “Anvil! The Story of Anvil” director Sacha Gervasi was announced as being a contender for the director’s seat for the film, which is based heavily on the nonfiction book of the same name by Stephen Rebello.
Hopkins and Gervasi have reportedly been taking joint meetings in the last couple of weeks, discussing the script, a Black List entry in 2007 from “Black Swan” writer John McLaughlin. No word on whether Helen Mirren is also still considering the role of Hitchcock’s wife, as she was a part of the Ryan Murphy version, but that’s a couple we would love to see.