Chalk it up to some wishful thinking. Lars von Trier’s business partner Peter Aalbaek Jensen, has denied rumors that the director had challenged Martin Scorsese to a “Five Obstructions”-style remake of “Taxi Driver.” “I have seen it [the story] in the Danish film magazine and what is written there is not true,” said Jensen. When we reported it yesterday, we pretty much assumed this wasn’t going to happen — true or not — but we are amused that someone out there is dreaming up fantasy von Trier projects.
ScreenDaily also notes that at one time, von Trier was contemplating creating a series called ‘Films that made me make films’ where he would “ask film-makers he admired about the movies that influenced them.” That actually sounds pretty interesting and we would hope that idea is still percolating somewhere in the back of von Trier’s mind.
But, von Trier continues to move forward, and is planning to shoot his psychological disaster flick, “Melancholia” this June. No wonder Penelope Cruz seemingly had to drop out because of scheduling conflicts. “Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” also shoots this summer. There is no casting news yet but we’re sure those details will be announced soon.