I’m lousy at keeping track of pre-production news, so if you’d asked me an hour ago what British artist-turned-filmmaker Steve McQueen was tackling for his sophomore feature, I’d have answered, “Oh, I know — that Fela Kuti biopic starring Chiwetel Ejiofor.” And I’d have been wrong.
The more clued-up folks at The Playlist report that McQueen’s next project, “Shame,” begins shooting in January and will actually reteam him with the star of his vastly acclaimed debut “Hunger,” Michael Fassbender. As you know, we love “Hunger” rather dearly here at InContention, so this is exciting news, made more interesting by the fact that it’s McQueen’s first venture into fictional narrative. Here’s the selling blurb:
Brandon (Fassbender) is a 30-something man living in New York who is unable to manage his sex life. After his wayward younger sister moves into his apartment, Brandon’s world spirals out of control… Shame is a compelling and timely examination of the nature of need, how we live our lives and the experiences that shape us.
Assuming the film is completed in time for a late-year release, meanwhile, Michael Fassbender looks set to be one of the most ubiquitous faces of 2011, starting with his romantic lead turn in Cary Fukunaga’s “Jane Eyre” in March. (We just got a glimpse this week.) The 33 year-old Irishman will also be seen as Jung to Viggo Mortensen’s Freud in David Cronenberg’s “A Dangerous Method,” as well as in Steven Soderbergh’s actioner “Haywire.” Add to that an appearance in Matthew Vaughn’s “X-Men: First Class,” and he’s comfortably set to rebuild the momentum that stalled slightly this year with the twin disappointments of “Centurion” and “Jonah Hex.”
Not bad going for a guy who joked he was “unemployed” in our interview earlier this year. A Best Supporting Actor nod in January for “Fish Tank” would help things along too, by the way. Just a suggestion.
[Photo: Venicemag.com]
Comments
14 responses to “Fassbender’s 2011 gets busier with McQueen’s ‘Shame’”
Guy, I may have asked you this before, but have you seen Ozon’s 2007 English-language film Angel, starring Romola Garai and with Fassbender as her love interest? It was never released here in the US (as far as I know), and I never have been able to understand why. It’s an off-kilter costume epic with an unsympathetic female lead, but it’s certainly not bad. And Fassbender is great in it.
I like Angel, it’s not Ozon’s best, but still very entertaining and Fassbender is indeed great in it.
Anyway, if they ever gonna make a biopic about Laurence Olivier Fassbender must play him.
Totally forgot about Angel. I thought it was a train-wreck.
This guy probably has more potential than any of the rising stars I know of at this moment.
So I’m going to go out on a limb and say the guy ends up folling around with his sister in this movie.
And hopefully it doesn’t end with Fassbender sitting on a bench, his hands outstretched, and declaring to the heavens through a veil of tears, “I HAVE SHAME! I HAVE SHAME!”
That would be an amazing ending.
@Keil Shults – I think you gave away the ending LOL
This is already my favorite film of 2011
I LOVED Hunger, Fish Tank, and Inglourious Basterds and am definitely looking forward to Michael Fassbender re-teaming with Steve McQueen (I never get sick of saying that name!) Does it stand against everything we believe in here for me to admit though that the performance by Fassbender that I am most looking forward to is that of Magneto in X-Men: First Class…
The script is 2/3 great. I think Fassbender will see gold.
Just to soften the blow for Paul and Will, I tend to think Angel is a deliberate train-wreck. And kind of a fun one, even if it comes nowhere close to Haynesian transcendence…
Fassbender has a huge career ahead of him, if all goes well.
He should be James Bond, damnit.
If people don’t know Fassbender in 2011, they will in early 2012 during the awards season. This boy is on fire!