Bogdanovich Has Also Finished Screenplay For ‘Turn Of The Century’
So yes, we’re on IndieWire now, which technically means that director and Hollywood encyclopedia Peter Bogdanovich is our colleague (in case you didn’t know, he’s got a blog), but though we have yet to run into him by the water cooler and ask him if he saw “The Office” last night, it might be because he’s been busy working on a couple of new films.
In an interview with the National Post, Bogdanovich dropped some details on a couple new films he has in the works. First up, and most excitingly, is a comedy called “Squirrel To The Nuts” which is set to be produced by Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach, two filmmakers who have clearly been influenced by his work.
“It’s a screwball comedy about an escort, a theatre director and a private detective,” said Bogdanovich. And really, the project sounds right in Bogdanovich’s very familiar wheelhouse — he is an unabashed fan of screwball comedy (“What’s Up Doc,” “The Cat’s Meow” etc) and with Anderson and Baumbach helping to guide the project, we are very excited to see what the result may be.
Another project knocking around the director’s desk, and first announced earlier in the year, is an adaptation of Kurt Andersen‘s massive 600+ page novel, “Turn Of The Century.” The story is set in February 2000 and is about “a Manhattan power couple and their three private school-reared kids. The hysterical pace of their respective professional lives is vaporizing their already troubled marriage, and the couple must struggle to keep their perspective and save their family.” That’s certainly some ambitious material and a new direction for the director, and he reveals that he has completed the screenplay.
Also still kicking around is the long delayed restoration of Orson Welles‘ never completed “The Other Side Of The Wind,” which has been moving in fits and starts, but is caught up in legal entanglements. That aside, it does seem like there is plenty to look forward to for Bogdanovich enthusiasts and in case you forgot, next month Criterion will issue the undeniable classic “The Last Picture Show” as part of their BBS Films box set. That one should shoot right to the top of your list.
We’ll leave you with an extra from the DVD release of “They All Laughed,” a discussion between Bogdanovich and Anderson about the film.