Charlie Kaufman’s new film, Later The War, has stopped filming, it’s being reported, and crew are moving on. More here.
It’s been five years since Charlie Kaufman last directed a film, that being I’m Thinking Of Ending Things, a wildly surreal movie very much in the Charlie Kaufman tradition. That project took Netflix money to get made – the kind of money which is being offered far less liberally from the company in the period since Dan Lin took over stewardship of its film division.
Happily, back in February, it looked like our long wait to see another feature from Kaufman was almost over. WIth a promising ensemble of Eddie Redmayne, Tessa Thompson and Patsy Ferran in place, production was confirmed and we even got a nugget of plot to gnaw on. The original short story which the film will be based on is called Debby’s Dream House by acclaimed author Iddo Gefen. It follows a man who ‘manufactures dreams for people but ultimately begins creating nightmares for them.’
However, here’s some dismal news from World Of Reel, which is reporting that production on the project in Poland has been shut down. Cast and crew have reportedly left and it appears that for now at least, the project is dead.
The production was the recipient of a Polish grant which helped to secure the requisite funding to make the film viable. Clearly, something has gone amiss, though, and the outlet has promised to reveal more details in due course.
Given how long Charlie Kaufman has had to wait to get another feature project up and running, this is really dispiriting news. We can only hope for some kind of speedy turnaround, not least because it sounds like a brilliant concept. Also, with the death of David Lynch at the beginning of this year, how many great American surrealist filmmakers are left to carry on his tradition? Kaufman is certainly one of the few, but much like Lynch had to, it looks like he might have to continue making short films until another opportunity for a feature comes along.
We’ll bring you more on this one as we hear it.
