Two filmmakers are currently trying to get to the top of an “Everest” film first: Doug Liman and Baltasar Kormakur. But the question is which one will get there first as one has lost a lead, and the other some financing.
So let’s start the Liman flick, which had been slated to star Tom Hardy. Well, according to Deadline, with a March 2014 start date eyed, scheduling didn’t work out and now the hunt for a new leading man is on. Benedict Cumberbatch is apparently in the mix to take over Hardy’s role as George Mallory, with Joel Kinnaman, James McAvoy, Tom Hiddleston, Henry Cavill, Luke Evans, Dan Stevens, Matthew Goode and Jim Sturgess being tossed around to play George Finch, in the adaptation of Jeffrey Archer‘s “Paths Of Glory” that will tell the true tale of the first man to climb Mount Everest.
But it seems like a wishlist right now, rather than anything concrete. Why? For the simple reason that (as our readers pointed out) projects like “Batman Vs. Superman,” “Crimson Peak” and “Frankenstein” are keeping a few of the names off of that list already. But it seems we might find out soon with Sony gunning to beat Universal and Working Title with their movie.
That project, which has Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes and Jason Clarke slated to star, will tell the true story of the 1996 expedition up the famed mountain, when a storm hit mid-climb and eight explorers lost their lives. Emmett/Furla Films recent backed out as co-financiers leaving Universal and Working Title left to find someone else to step in, and given that cast, it’s likely they will. But will it be soon enough to get things rolling before the other movie? Only time will tell.
As for you, which movie would you put down $12 for?