George Clooney to direct 'Surbicon'............December 9, 2015

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Looks like it's almost sown up........ and look at that list!

George Clooney Near To Locking ‘Suburbicon’; Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Josh Brolin In Talks
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by Mike Fleming Jr  December 8, 2015 4:19pm

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EXCLUSIVE: George Clooney has now committed to direct as his next film Suburbicon, and he is in negotiations with Matt Damon, Julianne Moore and Josh Brolin to star, I hear. Joel Silver is producing through his Silver Pictures with Clooney and his Smokehouse partner Grant Heslov. Joel and Ethan Coen wrote the script. The film has been financed independently, and Sony Pictures is the frontrunner to distribute. Production will begin next October. Clooney and Brolin just worked with the Coens in Hail, Caesar!, which has been set to open the Berlin Film Festival.
Related
George Clooney To Direct Coen Bros Crime Noir Drama 'Suburbicon' At TriStar: Hot Package Fast...
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]Deadline first revealed in late October that Clooney was putting this together, and that it was building steam quickly. It’s a noir drama in the vein of the Coens’ breakout film Blood Simple, with this one being a small crime drama set in the 1950s. Robert Elswit will be the DP.

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Damon’s coming off The Martian, just completed The Great Wall and the next Bourne Identity. Moore is coming off her Oscar win for Still Alice and is currently in theaters with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, while Brolin is out in theaters in Sicario.

....'sewn'. Not sown!

He and Matt are going for a record for the many projects they have worked on together.  Julianne Moore is terrific in every role she plays.  George worked with her when he produced Far From Heaven (I think I'm remembering correctly).  

Bring on the 50s.  Love movies set in that time period.

Look at the DP's career records: MI4 and 5,GNGL, Michael Clayton, There will be blood...impressive!
And Alexandre Desplat already promised to score every film George directed. This looks so good!
Shame that Hack Attack might be dead due to Sony's Hacked case and Amy's exit.

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Regardless, all three perfectly evoke the kind of old-school Americana that Clooney and the Coens are going after, and have all played period roles to perfection in the past. They’ve all shown their dark side on film, to glorious results, and should fit snugly into the BLOOD SIMPLE-esque trappings of the narrative.     
It’s possible that one or several of these guys will balk at the $20 million dollar budget and how quickly the project is coming together, but I’m thinking Clooney’s clout (and not inconsiderable charm) will get them to sign the dotted line and lend their star power to his latest directorial outing. Sure would be a hell of a cast.  -Vinyard

Beware of spoilers reading forward, however, as Clooney revealed his Suburbicon character’s fate during a 2008 interview with MTV. 

“There’s nothing to explain what it is except that it’s a Coen brothers film,” said Clooney who, at the time, thought that the sibling pair would direct. “So it’s insane. I get clubbed to death with a tire iron. It made me laugh.”
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"They offered me a part in Suburbicon a long time ago, and since then decided they have other projects they want to work on,” he said. "So I called them up and said 'How about me taking a spin at it?' Because it's a really interesting, really funny, very dark comedy."
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Thanks Sevens!  Good stuff here.  This is definitely in George's wheelhouse.

It does sound right up his alley! He's been busy while keeping quiet, hasn't he?

There's something about how this is being described that reminds me of Out of Sight - a very dark crime comedy - sort of a similar palette and tone.  Also, From Dusk to Dawn - if he really does get clubbed to death with a tire iron it could be very graphic and gory! - yet funny too!

I really want to see this movie.

Katiedot wrote:It does sound right up his alley!  He's been busy while keeping quiet, hasn't he?

Oh, he's been busy alright... see my note to Nicky on ChitChat!!  (wink)

George and Matt find their backers for 'Surbicon'........


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...a bit of insight........

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I wonder how much has changed about this project since they first started kicking it around. Apparently they had financing problems. It seems the budget has more than doubled (from $20 million to $50 million) - maybe because of the quality of the cast - they all would have commanded a lot less 8 years ago, but now they're all A-listers - and of course there's inflation.

I know the Coens approached George to act in the movie, but maybe (if the money people don't insist on him being in it) he'll only direct this time. After MM, when he said it sort of got away from him (I think because acting and directing something so big was harder than he thought it would be) I want to see him hit a home run and firmly establish himself as a director. He already has a solid reputation as an actor.

I think this type of film is a better fit for George's directing talent.  I think back to Confessions which was a dark and edgy film and think Suburbicon has that same quality.  I'm guessing but that's my first thought.

From the Feb. 4th issue of 'Studio System News'

Suburbicon
Logline: When there is a deathly home invasion in the quiet town of Suburbicon, a seemingly perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and betrayal.
Studio/Distributor(s): Black Bear Pictures (Financier)
Production Company(s): Silver Pictures, Mike Zoss Productions, Smokehouse Pictures
Producer(s): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Joel Silver, George Clooney, Grant Heslov
Writer(s): Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Director(s): George Clooney
Cast: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Josh Brolin
Details:
SSN Insight: Previously in development at Warner Bros. Bloom will handle international sales, which Black Bear Pictures will fully finance. Sales will begin at the Berlin Film Festival.

Damn! I was really hoping he was going to stay behind he camera for this one. With the Coens producing and him directing this was a chance for him to focus and hone his directing skills. Splitting his focus between acting and directing makes it more likely that the movie will be ok, but not great.

Way2Old, do you think he's acting because Black Bear wouldn't finance without him on screen?

It's certainly possible. George's international 'numbers' are better than his domestic ones.

Black Bear is a relatively new company; I think they've been around for four or five years, but their big guns either came from CAA or worked a lot of deals with them. George probably knows every one of them personally. But they also have ties to most of the star-power names in the business, and producers court them all the time because they are cash-ready. They produced/financed 'The Imitation Game' and 'All Is Lost.' If they wanted a more bankable actor in a role, they certainly would get one with no problem. 

So I think that the deal came to them with George already attached as talent as well as director, and the numbers work for them so they had no problems with it. Not as heady for George or for those of us who love him, but that's the business.

And remember, I don't really know anything. I'm speculating.

Lizzy I thought George was planning on being in the cast from the beginning.  When it was first announced he was directing there was a quote from him saying he gets "clubbed to death" in the end.

I think George can direct and act at the same time successfully.  GNGL and Confessions did well by him.  You're right.  He has had a few misses but he can definitely put out quality work.  And the fact that it's a genre that he is familiar with and enjoys indulging in will hopefully work in his favor.

Donnamarie - I could be wrong, but I think the "clubbed to death" quote came from a time when the Coens were still helming the picture.

I know he can do both successfully, but I think at this point in his career he needs to solidify his reputation as a director and (IMO) he'd do  better if he just focused on one job at a time. I know it's not necessarily his choice, but I kind of hoped that this time he could have put all his energy into directing and blown everyone away. Hell, who knows? Maybe he still will!

I'm not 100% sure he can successfully direct and act in the same films. CoaDM and GN&GL were films where he only had a bit part. When you look at Leatherheads where he had a major role, then I'm not convinced.

Katie, I agree - especially since MM was so brutalized by critics. Even George said it got away from him, and I think that's because he was wearing too many hats at once. If nothing else, the logistics must have been a nightmare - let alone directing and acting.

I hope this one will be an easier shoot and he can focus on his vision for the story. Maybe the Coens will help him stay on track.