Michael Mann's Next: Mob Drama Or Medieval Epic?

Beaks here...

Michael Mann has sort of revealed to the Financial Times' Michael Garrahan that his next film will be either a mob drama about the Chicago mob or a medieval saga centered on the Battle of Agincourt. Mann is a notoriously vigorous developer of projects, so I wouldn't place bets on any of these movies going before cameras. Since his last film, PUBLIC ENEMIES, was a gangster movie, I'm not convinced he'll want to turn around and make a picture about Tony Accardo and Sam Giancana wrestling for control of the Chicago Outfit in, I'm guessing, the middle part of the twentieth century. This is evidently the basis for BIG TUNA. Mann describes the project thusly...

"Here’s an older man who was the undisputed boss at a time when the Chicago outfit was the most powerful crime element in America. It becomes a classic tragedy of megalomania and hubris."

Then there's AGINCOURT, which, according to Deadline's Michael Fleming, is based on Bernard Cornwell's novel about a proficient young archer granted a stay of execution by King Henry V. The archer ultimately finds himself one of the "happy few" fighting in the Battle of Agincourt. Mann also discusses his proposed Robert Capa biopic with Garrahan - which is being written by the very talented Jez Butterworth, and would focus on the war photographer's love affair with Gerda Taro. It's worth noting that there are multiple Capa projects in various stages of development at present; if Mann is serious about this film, he may want to get it up and going before one of the rival projects gets a greenlight. Mann has also been working with DEADWOOD's David Milch on the L.A. horse track drama LUCK for HBO. That series (starring Dustin Hoffman) will air sometime in 2011.