The hardest job in Hollywood right now could be to be Gemma Arterton’s publicist; it seems like the “Tamara Drewe” star is incapable of giving an interview to anyone without spilling the beans on early, top-secret links to potential projects. It’s only a few weeks since she revealed to the Sunday Times that she was linked to the Christopher Nolan-penned “The Keys To The Street,” and that Ridley Scott wanted to meet with her for the “Alien” prequels — the latter of which rumours her poor, overworked publicist denied, only for Arterton to then confirm it again to EW. Now, an interview with the UK edition of GQ (not online, but page 230 of the October 2010 issue) has uncovered all kinds of new info from the much-in-demand, less-than-secretive actress.
First up, Arterton is in talks for what she describes as “the coolest part ever;” Nicola Six in Michael Winterbottom’s adaptation of Martin Amis’ novel “London Fields.” A manipulative Londoner plotting her own death, who allows the other characters in the story to see her with different personalities, it’s a pretty great showcase for an actress, and we can see why Arterton’s excited. The catch here would appear to be that the project isn’t that close to happening: when we talked to Winterbottom in June, he told us that “I think I’ll have to wait a few years before I do that one. I think it could be misconstrued, that one, because of the violence towards women.” But if Arterton’s now attached to the project, perhaps Winterbottom’s changed his mind?
She’s also attached to “Corsica 72,” the crime movie which figured highly on last year’s Brit List, from James Bond writers Neil Purvis and Robert Wade, about two criminals on the Italian island of Corsica who fall out over a girl, and which Arterton tells GQ is “the best script I’ve read.” It’s the first that we’ve heard of Arterton’s involvement in the project, but some digging revealed an interview with Vulture a month ago, in which Arterton seconds the information (before admitting “I wasn’t supposed to tell you that”). What’s more, Oliver Hirschbiegel (“Downfall”), who was attached as director at the start of the year, seems to have dropped out, and has been replaced by Luca Guadagnino, who directed the lavish Tilda Swinton-starrer “I Am Love.”
Lastly, Arterton may also be taking on two famous, potentially controversial rock n roll figures, as GQ states that ‘also on the table’ are a biopic of Marianne Faithfull, and a role (presumably Courtney Love?) in “All Apologies,” described as being about “the pre-fame Kurt Cobain and Courtney.” Faithfull announced the existence of a biopic in development last year, although there’s still no news about who’s making it, and she suggested that it was some way off. But could “All Apologies” be Oren Moverman’s gestating and loose adaptation of the seminal biography “Heavier Than Heaven”? Or another project altogether? It remains to be seen.
The likelihood is that, at most, half of these projects will happen with the actress still involved — Arterton’s got to fit in “Clash of the Titans 2,” the Richard E. Grant western “In With The Outlaws,” and “The Keys To The Street” as well as, potentially, the “Alien” films, and a role on stage in London in Ibsen’s “The Master Builder” (we also heard she’d been offered Jonathan Glazer’s “Under the Skin,” but all’s been quiet on that front for a while) so she’s a busy bee. In all likelihood, she’s attaching herself to multiple projects, and then going with whichever manages to actually make it to screens, but still, it’s an interesting slate for an actress who’s been badly served by her blockbuster appearances so far.