It appears thatFantastic FourfilmmakerJosh Trank’s time in director’s jail will be short-lived. Production troubles on the 20th Century Fox superhero film were highly publicized, and Trank laid low for a while after the pic was poorly received by both audiences and critics (he claimed his cut of the film was better,but would never be seen by audiences), but he’s now resurfaced with a project of a very different sort. It was announced over the weekend that Trank wrote and will direct a drama about infamous gangster Al Capone calledFonzo, and none other thanTom Hardyhas signed on to star.
Trank only has two films under his belt, the aforementionedFantastic Fourand his breakout debutChronicle, but both are square in the sci-fi genre.Fonzomarks a definite change in direction, althought this won’t be your typical biopic. The film will pick up with Capone at the age of 47, where following a decade of imprisonment, dementia rots his mind and “his past becomes present as harrowing memories of his violent and brutal origins melt into his waking life.”
This sounds like an interesting take on the notorious gangster, who rose to prominence during Prohibition as he expanded a bootlegging business in Chicago, forging profitable relationships with city officials that kept him safe from law enforcement as he ran his business by increasingly violent means. This all culminated in the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre, in which Capone’s organization planned the murder of seven rival gang members in broad daylight, resulting in the public putting pressure on the city of Chicago to finally crack down on Capone.
Capone became increasingly debilitated by syphilitic dementia after his eventual release from prison, and indeed he died at the age of 48, so ifFonzois picking up with Capone when he’s 47, one imagines we’re in for a film about the gangster’s final months.
It’s hard to think of anyone better than Hardy to play Al Capone. The actor is just coming off an Oscar nomination for his work inThe Revenantand a stellar lead turn inMad Max: Fury Road, but he’s proven to be something of a chameleon-like performer. Most recently, Hardy’s been shooting the FX seriesTaboo, which he created and co-wrote with his father. He also has a role inChristopher Nolan’s upcoming World War II actionerDunkirk.
Trank, meanwhile, was poised to direct an unspecifiedStar Warsanthology film, butleft the projectand/orwas firedin the midst of the hubbub surrounding the difficulties onFantastic Four. He’s landed on his feet rather quickly, though, proving once more that if you’re a white dude in Hollywood who makes an expensive flop, odds are you’ll get at least one more shot before getting the permanent boot.
Fonzois currently in pre-production and as-yet doesn’t have a filming start date, but this is a curious development to be sure, and I’ll be interested to see how the film comes together. The project isn’t yet set up at a studio, butRussell AckermanandJohn Schoenfelder(Tau) are producing for Addictive Pictures alongsideLawrence Bender(Pulp Fiction).
