One of the biggest cinematic question marks of the year is The Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer's "Cloud Atlas." The project, which boasts a starry lineup with each actor playing multiple characters, and a sprawling storyline set across a backdrop that spans hundreds of years, is currently in post-production with only a couple of stills to even give the barest indication of what we can expect. But one of the more intriguing things the film will offer is the chance to see the usually affable and charming Hugh Grant being bad. Being very, very bad. He's already said he does "a lot of killing and raping" in the film, and now he's dropped a few more morsels about his roles in "Cloud Atlas."
"It's the strangest film, strangest script, strangest offer I ever had. To play six small parts, all of them appalling killers and rapists, and some of them 85-year-old men and others Korean slave drivers," Grant told MTV, adding that he loved the experience even if sitting in the makeup chair to transform into each part was "a pain in the ass." But he did have a favorite among the roles. "It was hard not to love being the Korean slave owner. My slaves were Korean girls who were replicants serving in a fast food restaurant a few thousand years in the future, all in tiny little uniforms, and my job is to corral them and abuse them."
We honestly cannot wait to see what the film will bring forth because it sounds like it's either going to be dazzlingly brilliant, or one of the most fascinating failures of all time. Either way, the Wachowskis and Tykwer are out there on a tightrope with no safety net, which is pretty exciting, and we're glad to see so many big names walking out there with them. Tom Hanks, Hugo Weaving, Ben Whishaw, Halle Berry, Susan Sarandon, Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess and more co-star in "Cloud Atlas," which doesn't have a release date, but has been rumored for this fall. Here's hoping that timeline sticks.