Russ Meyer May Get the David O. Russell Treatment
It takes a special kind of person to proudly proclaim the words "King of the Nudies" on his tombstone. That person was sexploitation uber-king Russ Meyer, most famous for his films "Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" and "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls," from a script by Roger Ebert. This is a man who, as a virgin in World War II, was offered his choice of prostitute by none other than Ernest Hemingway. Fittingly, Meyer picked the one with the largest breasts. He was a crazy-man innovator, a legend of grindhouse cinema, and it's frankly stunning to us that no one has made a movie of his life yet.
Fox Searchlight is making us wait no longer: They're contracting David O. Russell to direct the film version, from a script Merritt Johnson, his old assistant on "Three Kings." (Their careers are converging in a funny, cosmic way; Russell is of course finally back in Hollywood's good favor, and Johnson is hot with his scripts for "Temple Grandin" and the upcoming "Lovelace."
Obviously, there's no casting news yet on this -- Russell hasn't even signed yet -- but it does seem like a perfect fit for Russell, who paid his dues with "The Fighter" and might want to return to being weird again. This seems destined to be a "Ed Wood"-esque career maker for an enterprising young actor, and even though James Franco seems like an obvious pick (even if he's supposedly doing "Lovelace"), we'd go either go with someone like Ryan Gosling or give, say, Chris Pine his first real opportunity to stretch. We do know this: Russell will not be lacking for women to cast as extras.
Fox Searchlight Negotiating Deal For David O. Russell To Direct Russ Meyer Story [Deadline]
