Rupert Wyatt Could Direct Mark Wahlberg In ‘The Gambler’
As filmmakers go,Martin Scorsese,Todd Phillips, andRupert Wyattare pretty damn different. However, they do have one project in common:The Gambler.
A few years back, Scorsese was set to direct the remake of the 1974 film, with Leonardo DiCaprio attached to play the lead. He fell off at some point, and last yearThe Hangoverhelmer Phillips entered talks to take over the project. That didn’t pan out either. Now Wyatt andMark Wahlbergare reportedly eyeing the project.Star Trek 3it isn’t, but it sounds like an exciting next step for Wyatt nonetheless. Hit the jump for all the details.
TheWrapreports that Wyatt is in talks, but has yet to seal the deal. Between this andthoseStar Trek 3rumors, Paramount seems very keen on him. Wahlberg is said to be “circling” the lead role, but he isn’t officially attached at this point. If he signs on,The Gamblerwould give him an opportunity to attract the kind of critical acclaim he got from performances inBoogie NightsandThe Fighter.
The script, byWilliam Monahan(The Departed), centers around a lit professor who’s hooked on gambling. His addiction pushes him into deeper and deeper debt, getting him in trouble with his loved ones as well as some unforgiving gangster types. Original screenwriterJames Tobackbased the 1974 version on his own life, and he wasnone too pleasedto hear about the remake.
Wyatt directed the critically and commercially successfulRise of the Planet of the Apes, but ultimately decided not to return for the sequel. Although he hasn’t directed a feature film since then, he’s kept busy with a number of developing project includingAgent 13with Charlize Theron, the World War II dramaBirdsong, and the noir thrillerNight Film. Additionally, he recently wrapped the AMC pilotTurn, about spies in the Revolutionary War.
Wahlberg has had a hectic 2013 as well, starring inBroken City,Pain & Gain, and2 Guns. He’ll next be seen in Peter Berg’sLone Survivor, which opens this winter, and he’s now shootingTransformers: Age of Extinction, which hits next summer.
