Sometimes, it feels like everything that can go wrong with a project will go wrong. Take Martin Scorsese‘s “Silence,” for example; that film fell apart continuously for thirty years after production, location scouting, rights, and legal battles plagued the project before it finally found funding. However, that’s a rare case of a film persevering against all odds. Some films just seemingly aren’t meant to be made. Such is the case with “Ness,” formerly titled “Torso” which was going to be one of Paul Greengrass’ (the ‘Bourne‘ series, “Captain Phillips“) next films. Not now though.
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Recently, Paramount Pictures dropped the rights to develop the film based on the graphic novel, “Torso,” written by Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko. It was the icing on the cake of an unsuccessful more-than-ten-year-long quest to get this film made. Bendis has remained hopeful throughout the process, still.
“It’s a cool true story that very little people know of,” Bendis told THR. “You think you know the story of Elliot Ness? You don’t. You know the story of serial killers? You don’t. And that’s how I kept the faith.”
The premise for Bendis and Andreyko’s graphic novel is as follows:
Cleveland: 1935. Eliot Ness, fresh from his legendary Chicago triumph over Al Capone and associates, set his sights on Cleveland and went on a crusade that matched, and sometimes even surpassed, his past accomplishments. Dismembered body parts have started washing up in a concentrated area of Lake Erie Sound. Their headless torsos have left no clues to their identity or the reason for death. Elliot Ness and his colorful gang of “The Unknowns” chased this killer through the underbelly of Cleveland for years. As far as the public was concerned, he was never captured. But what really happened is even more shocking
Originally, David Fincher was slated to direct “Ness” for Miramax in 2006, but the studio abandoned the project. Then, Fincher was attached to the script in 2008 under Paramount, with Matt Damon in talks for the titular role, plus Casey Affleck and Rachel McAdams is supporting roles. However, Rob Moore, who was the head of marketing at Paramount at the time, didn’t agree with Fincher’s black-and-white vision and was hesitant to move forward based on the fact that his “Zodiac” only grossed approximately half of its budget. After the project fell back into script purgatory, David Lowery stepped up to direct “Ness” in 2013 after the success of his Sundance hit “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.”
Finally, Paul Greengrass (“The Bourne Ultimatum“) became associated with “Ness” in 2017, with Brian Helgeland (“Mystic River,” “L.A. Confidential“) writing a version of the script. After Helgeland backed out when no one attached to the project could agree on a screenplay, the script fell back into the hands of Bendis and Andreyko.
Paramount was to co-produce “Ness” with John Davis, Greg Goodman and John Fox of Davis Entertainment, formerly with Circle of Confusion, with the project having the potential to become a film franchise. For those wanting to see this film get made, don’t lose hope. If Scorsese’s “Silence” can withstand 30 years of development hell, then maybe “Ness” stands a chance of seeing the light of day again. Greengrass’ next film is “Norway,” based on the aftermath of the 2011 Norway attacks, which Netflix will release in November.