I read Don Winslow’s The Power of the Dog a
couple of years back and enjoyed it; Winslow’s book was a hard edged
noirish crime story set amidst the South American drug cartels and the
US government’s war on Communism. He has a new book coming this summer,
and in modern book blockbuster fashion, it’s already been optioned for
a movie. With Oliver Stone poised to direct it.
Here’s the synopsis of Savages from Deadline Hollywood, who broke the news:
In
Savages, two pals from Laguna Beach pals share the same girlfriend and
a thriving business growing and distributing the best-quality pot on
the planet. When they resist being muscled by a Mexican drug cartel ,
the girl is kidnapped and the ransom is every cent they’ve made for the
last five years. They agree to pay but hatch an alternate
plan to get her back, get revenge, and then get lost.
Apparently Stone wants to do this after Wall Street 2 is
all wrapped and released, and this sounds like just what the director
needs. He has to loosen up and do something crazy and violent and quick
and dirty and that will piss people off. Savages could definitely be that.
Winslow has a couple of other books in various stages of development; The Winter of Frankie the Machine is
a Mob book that’s been attached to Robert DeNiro and Martin Scorsese in
the past. Maybe this will give the writer’s canon a kick in the pants
when it comes to Hollywood.
2 comments
I can see why "The Winter of Frankie Machine" has been stuck in development hell. It's the type of "ex-Mob guy gets pulled back in" story that will just come off as formulaic and cliched if not handled right. It's sad that DeNiro is at the point in his career where I would dread him being attached to it.
the synopsis doesn't sound that groundbreaking, but is a story as old as time. I'm sick of mexican drug cartel movies with 2 american young men seeking their personal revenge. It sounds so familiar. I wanted Oliver Stone to have directed mission:impossible 2 instead of the john woo atrocity that tom cruise went for. I think oliver stone can make a great sci-fi spy movie instead of messing with drug cartels that have been done to death. SAVAGES will make some money but not what the studio expects. I think oliver stone can make a great movie out of THE DEMOLISHED MAN which he wrote an early draft in the '80's for brian de palma. If de palma is never meant to direct THE DEMOLISHED MAN then stone would be the ideal replacement. I'd rather see grounbreaking sci-fi like INCEPTION then watch another revenge story against the mexican drug cartels.
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