Thanks to Nathaniel Rogers for pointing out a Screen Daily video interview (embedded below the cut) in which John Cameron Mitchell talks in some depth about his next film, “Rabbit Hole,” which goes into production next month.
We mentioned the project last month, when Aaron Eckhart was cast opposite Nicole Kidman in the screen adaptation of David Lindsay-Abaire’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play about bereaved parents. The cast has grown since then, with Dianne Wiest, Sandra Oh and Giancarlo Esposito all also on board now.
The setup in the video is slightly odd — Mitchell seems to have been held at gunpoint against a wall and forced to give a monologue — but the director has a number of interesting things to say, particularly on the contrast between working with stars like Kidman and the less seasoned players of his last film, “Shortbus.”
He also talks up Lindsay-Abaire’s screen adaptation in a big way, describing it as one of the best screenplays he has ever read, and “head and shoulders” ahead of the original play. Unlike the cut-and-paste script jobs of recent Broadway-to-screen transfers like, say, “Doubt” or “Frost/Nixon,” Mitchell promises a complete cinematic reimagining of the material, citing the way his previous films incorporated animation and art into their film language as a point of reference.
As I said before, he’s a bold choice of director, and it’s clear he’s deeply invested in the material. It’s not often one gets such detailed insight into a director’s plan for a project before shooting begins — here’s hoping he pulls it off. Check out the video below the cut.
Comments
12 responses to “John Cameron Mitchell on ‘Rabbit Hole’”
I’d rather see Nicole doing a Woody Allen comedy.
Me too.
Not me. John Cameron Mitchell + Nicole seems like a brilliant pairing to me.
100% with Mike here. I’m fascinated by this collaboration, and it’s a hell of a meaty role.
But I don’t think that Nicole can do it. Her face and expressions are awful, and for an actress that is everything.
My only hope is Dianne West: brilliant actress.
I’m still not buying the whole “Kidman has paralysed her face and acting ability” fuss. Tabloid silliness, if you ask me.
I roll my eyes every time I read that dumb nonsense. Makes me wonder, then, how she gave such a great performance in “Australia” just last year (and with plenty of facial movement, too).
Great performance in Australia? Come on. And you can think that that stuff are tabloid silliness, but I’m glad when I look at actreeses like Meryl Streep, Judi Dench, Helen Mirrer, Kate Winslet and see real faces.
And Nicole is a good actress, but could be a better one without soo many botox in her face. Just my opinion.
While it’s obvious she’s had some botox her face isn’t completely immovable and people who say so just do not like her.
The movie sounds like it’s going to be a doozy and I am definitely looking forward to seeing Kidman, Eckhart and Weist go at it together. Will be interesting to see how Mitchell handles more… subdued material.
Although I’m not sure what to make of his “one of the screenplays I’ve ever read” comment. He typically writes his own work so how many screenplays has he actually read?
Yes, contrary to what so many people would have you believe, “Australia” was actually a great film containing some great performances, Ms. Kidman’s being one of the best.
I thought Kidman couldn’t surprise me anymore, and then I saw “Margot at the wedding”… she’s incredibly raw in that film, I think it’s one of her best perfs.
[…] David Lindsey-Abaire, who will be adapting the movie from his play, will be staging a “complete cinematic reimagining of the material.” If it manages to enchant on a different level, the movie could easily net a […]