We were little worried about Ben Foster for a moment. He’s going to be starring in the upcoming Jason Statham thing “The Mechanic” and he recently signed on to the pretty average-sounding thriller “Contraband” with Mark Wahlberg — we were beginning to wonder if the Foster we knew from “The Messenger” and “3:10 to Yuma” was gone. Nope, no need to panic yet.
Deadline reports that Foster has joined the gestating infidelity drama “360” with Rachel Weisz and Anthony Hopkins. Set to be directed by Fernando Meirelles and with a screenplay by Peter Morgan, the drama is a retelling of the classic Arthur Schnitzler play “Reigen.” The play, perhaps the best known work by Schnitzler (who also wrote the short story that served as the basis for Stanley Kubrick‘s “Eyes Wide Shut“) has been adapted a number of times, from Max Ophuls‘ 1950 film “La Ronde” to David Hare‘s 1998 play “The Blue Room,” which starred Nicole Kidman and Iain Glen. It has a simple and rather brilliant conceit; it’s made up of several short scenes between couples, who are shown before or after a sexual liaison. After each scene, one character from the pairing is then shown with another partner, who is then shown with another partner, and so on, until the promiscuity comes full circle.
At one point last year, Eminem and Frances McDormand were said to be in talks for roles but there is no mention of them here, which leads us to believe they may have moved on from the project. The film itself was originally slated to start shooting before the end of 2010, but clearly it has been pushed back a bit, most likely to accommodate Weisz who spent most of the latter part of the year shooting Terrence Davies‘ “The Deep Blue Sea.”
No word yet on a new start date, but we’re glad to hear the project continues to roll forward. Foster is shooting “Contraband” this spring so we don’t imagine “360” will start lensing until the summer at the earliest.