Not all that long ago, Brian De Palma was a bankable A-list helmer, with hits like “Scarface,” “The Untouchables” and “Mission: Impossible” under his belt. But the last ten years have been a bit rough for the filmmaker: he’s only made two movies, the semi-experimental “Redacted,” which won the Golden Lion at Venice but proved divisive in the extreme with critics, and the little-seen Rachel McAdams thriller “Passion.”
The latter was five years ago, but De Palma’s been talked about in his absence from filmmaking, thanks to the patronage of younger filmmakers who grew up on his work, like Edgar Wright who frequently sings his praises, and Noah Baumbach, who made last year’s excellent documentary “De Palma” about the helmer and his work. And the latter might just have inspired a new surge of interest in the filmmaker, because it looks like the 76-year-old helmer is getting back behind the camera.
The Hollywood Reporter reveals that De Palma will direct the thriller “Domino” (presumably/hopefully unrelated to the Tony Scott film of the same name), with Nicolaj Coster-Waldau (best known as Jamie Lannister from “Game Of Thrones”) and “Mad Men” star Christina Hendricks in talks to star.
Penned by “Kon-Tiki” screenwriter Petter Skavlan, the film will see Coster-Waldau play a Danish police officer seeking vengeance for his partner’s murder, teaming up with his late partner’s mistress (Hendricks) to take the man down, only to be caught up with the CIA along the way. The project will be seeking sales at Cannes, and sounds very much in De Palma’s wheelhouse, so we dearly hope this comes together quickly, in a way that other recent attachments from the director — Chinese thriller “Lights Out” and thriller “The Truth And Other Lies” — haven’t.