The Hollywood Reporter reports Al Pacino is in negotiations to join a biopic centering on the life of Dr. Jack Kevorkian with Barry Levinson (Wag the Dog) set to direct for HBO Films. Adam Mazer, whose only previous screenplay was co-writing Breach, wrote the script, which is loosely based on “Between the Dying and the Dead: Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the Assisted Suicide Machine and the Battle to Legalize Euthanasia” by Neal Nicol.
As I am sure most of you already know, Kevorkian, also known as Dr. Death, assisted in more than 150 cases of suicide and had beaten the state court system in Michigan numerous times, but was finally convicted after he willingly sent a videotape of himself euthanizing a terminally ill man to “60 Minutes.” He was convicted of second-degree murder in 1999 and is serving his sentence in a maximum-security prison in Michigan.
The mistake I think this film is making is taking the subject matter seriously and making it a true biopic instead of using the exploits of Kevorkian’s life is a jumping off point to tell a satirical and perhaps topical story. Instead, the film will trace his rise as he builds his infamous “Mercy Machine,” conducts his first assisted suicide, and starts a media frenzy with his epic legal battles defending a patient’s right to die.
In my opinion there is potential to tell a truly human story here all while managing to entertain. As this is pitched in the THR article it sounds rather boring to me since we already know the story.
Beyond that, Levinson has hit a movie-making snag as of late and bringing in Pacino for the lead role doesn’t interest me either. Pacino’s appeal has worn out on me in terms of seeing him in new films. As far as watching him in The Godfather franchise, Dog Day Afternoon, Scent of a Woman or even Devil’s Advocate — a personal guilty pleasure — is still highly enjoyable, but it has since he made anything that really moved me.
Ben Kingsley was, at one time, attached to the Kevorkian role, which would have been a much more interesting. I would even like to see Richard Jenkins in the role or maybe Alan Alda. Unfortunately he passed on this past February, but I think James Whitmore would have dominated the role if given a shot.
