Robert Redford To Star In True Crime Tale From ‘Ain’t Them Bodies Saints’ Director
Damn, howDavid Lowery’s career has rocketed forward this year. After a few years in which he crafted a string of shorts and the featureSt. Nick, Lowery had three films at Sundance this past January. They werePit Stop(which he co-wrote),Upstream Color(which he edited), and the great modern-ish westernAin’t Them Bodies Saints, which he wrote and directed.Saintsis,as far as I’m concerned, among the best films of 2013 so far; it will be released by IFC later this year.
Lowery was recently set towrite a remakeofPete’s Dragonfor Disney, and now he’ll directRobert Redfordin a film calledThe Old Man and the Gun. The story is centered on Forrest Tucker, a lifelong bankrobber who spent much of his life in jail, whose story came to light after he was arrested for a Florida bank robbery at the age of 78.
THRreports that the film is based on the 2003New Yorkerarticle of the same name, byDavid Grann. (If I was a development exec, I would option any Grann article that hadn’t already been bought. Other Grann work in development includesThe Lost City of ZandThe Brand; his articleThe Chameleonbecame the filmThe Imposter.)
This is how the man Redford will play described his life when talking to Grann:
I’ve been in prison all my life, except for the times I’ve broken out. I was born in 1920, and I was in jail by the time I was fifteen. I’m eighty-one now and I’m still in jail, but I’ve broken out eighteen times successfully and twelve times unsuccessfully. There were plenty of other times I planned to escape, but there’s no point in me telling you about them.
Lowery will also script the film, which will focus on one specific period in Tucker’s life. Redford will produce, with Bill Holderman and New Yorker publisher Conde Nast.
