"GREAT" CASTING IDEAS, BUT NO SPECIFICS YET
In alignment with the Produced By 2009 Conference in Culver City, which began Friday and continues through today, JoBlo has posted the full text of Jimmy O's recent interview with Gale Anne Hurd (see my post from May 19 2009). In one part of the interview, Hurd is asked about her strategy, and says the key is "the best movie you can" make. She then moves into a discussion about marketing: But at the same time, make sure that when the film is marketed, it is marketed properly, and that the studio is selling the same film that the filmmakers made. Because you can’t do a bait and switch. And that is primarily because of the internet, and the fact that the first fans that see a film, when they are lead to believe they’re seeing one thing and they see it and it is something else, that word gets out. You don’t have the weekend anymore. And also, box office grosses are reported in the mainstream press, immediately available on-line and I do think that the consumer is now aware of what films are underperforming. And I think that there are remarkable films that under perform on a Friday and because that becomes a story, people who otherwise might’ve gone to see a film, an actually remarkably good film, won’t go to see it for whatever reason, its been branded unsuccessful. You know, after one night.
Jimmy O's interview concludes with a slightly extended discussion of The Boston Stranglers:
[Jimmy O] What is next for you that you are really excited about?
[Hurd] The film that Brian De Palma, my ex-husband and I are working on together is THE BOSTON STRANGLERS. Which is the true story of something that we think we all know the true story now, but we don’t. Which is that Albert Desalvo, who was branded the Boston Strangler, there was a movie about him, Tony Curtis played Albert Desalvo… as it turns out, he was never convicted of the crime.
[Jimmy O] How far along?
[Hurd] The film is set up at Overture, and we are in the process of casting and we hope to shoot in the fall.
[Jimmy O] Anyone that you are looking at specifically, that you’d hope for?
[Hurd] Not at the moment. Great ideas though.
On Wednesday, The Los Angeles Times posted edited highlights from a producers panel that Hurd participated in as a lead-in to this weekend's conference.