Steve Carell has been garnering a lot of attention for his performance in Foxcatcher as of late, which will be released November 14. And while he does have a role in this weekend’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, he has been branching out from his comedy background into more dramatic material. I particularly loved The Way, Way Back, which, yes, has comedy, but not really in Carell’s character. He is a very talented actor, and I am glad he is stretching himself artistically. I will always admire someone for taking a chance.
In his continued quest to branch out, director Gore Verbinski has tapped Carell for his upcoming untitled paranoid thriller, which is set to start production in March. On the opposite side of the spectrum, I am not particularly excited about seeing him in a Verbinski movie, mainly because I am not excited to see a Verbinski movie. After The Lone Ranger, which just made me sad to be a fan of movies, I have totally lost faith in what Verbinski can make, even after making films I have liked (Rango, the first Pirates film).
Another thing that has me worried is that the script was written by Steve Conrad, who wrote The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and The Pursuit of Happyness, both of which I find just awful. So, creatively this does not sound like it will pan out well. I still respect Carell for trying this out, though.
Original report from Deadline.
