After ten years of development, it looks like Tony Scott is finally going to make POTSDAMER PLATZ.
Based on the apparently out-of-print book by Buddy Giovinazzo (writer and director of the indelible COMBAT SHOCK), the film was to have centered on a New York crime family's attempt to gain a foothold in Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall. But Deadline San Juan's Michael Fleming is reporting that the latest draft of the screenplay is set in Puerto Rico. So expect a title change.
Wherever it takes place, it's going to have a killer fucking cast: Javier Bardem, Jason Statham and Mickey Rourke are all "circling" the project. Scott was also pursuing Gene Hackman for a role, which would've been his first appearance onscreen since WELCOME TO MOOSEPORT, but he has apparently turned down the offer. Damn. Damn. Damn.
Giovinazzo wrote the initial screenplay, which was then rewritten by David Scinto and Louis Mellis (of SEXY BEAST and the massively disappointing 44 INCH CHEST). The financing is still coming together, but it's presumed that 20th Century Fox - which currently houses good ol' Scott Free - will distribute. Considering the cast and the subject matter, this sounds like my kind of Tony Scott movie. Let's hope it comes together quickly.
