Last we heard, Wim Wenders’ 3D dance project/tribute to acclaimed choreographer and dancer Pina Bausch came to a halt after her death last year. But it looks like Wenders quietly resumed work and we now have our first look at what we might expect from the forthcoming “Pina.”
The first thing that is made clear is that this is not “Step Up 3D.” No glow in the dark, electric slides, or hands and feet flying at our face (though still lots of water) in what looks like simply a filmed version of staged dance performances. It’s hard to tell how 3D will affect the visual look but dance fans can expect the following pieces in the film: “Café Muller,” Sacre Du Printemps,” “Vollmond” and “Kontakthof.” The film is currently listed as being in post-production with completion set to happen sometime in 2010.
However, that’s not the only project Wenders has cooking, he’s also gearing up to shoot “Miso Soup,” an adaptation of Ryu Murakami’s novel, next year. The film will follow Kenji, a tour guide of Tokyo nightlife, who is hired by an American named Frank to tour the strip clubs and sex bars of the city. However, Kenji soon suspects that Frank might be responsible for a series of brutal murders that have taken place. Sounds like yet another new direction by the genre shifting director.
The film currently has a script by producer Philippe Carcassone (“Coco Before Chanel,” “The Illusionist”) and Scott Derickson (“The Exorcism Of Emily Rose”) and is in the early stages of development with an eye to shoot in spring 2011.
And yes, there’s still more. Wenders also has a project called “Everything Will Be Fine” in development, about a man named Tomas that drives “aimlessly around the outskirts of town after a trivial domestic quarrel [and] accidentally hits and kills a child. The accident marks him for the next twelve years, as we follow the event’s implosion in Tomas’ everyday life.” The film has a script by Bjørn Olaf Johannessen but no production timelines have been set.
And if that isn’t enough, earlier this year Wenders completed work on a short, low-budget Italian 3D feature titled “Il Volo.” The 27-minute film, whose title translates to “The Flight,” stars Ben Gazzara as the mayor of a Calabrian village who initiates a program in 1997 to try to integrate a set of Kurdish refugees into the dwindling population of his own people. No word yet on when that might make make an appearance. The director also has a 3D installation for this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale, running from 29 August – 21 November 2010, called “If Buildings Could Talk…”
Phew. Lots of stuff on Wenders plate and he certainly seems to be giving the newest 3D format a workout in a variety of environments. It will be interesting to see the traditionally arthouse director’s approach to Hollywood’s newest whizzbang moneymaker. No word yet on when we might see “Pina” or “Il Volo” but we’ll keep an eye out. [Neue Road Movies via The Daily MUBI]