Warren Beatty to Play Howard Hughes in Comedy, Another Beatty Thread

My thread on Warren Beatty has devolved into a Batman discussion (:; my fault the topic was originally another Dick Tracy. I am starting another thread since Beatty has started another project, one he intends to write, direct and star in. The Hughes project is the rumor that every one has picked up. Beatty has been planning a Hughes project since the late 60s, much as Malick had been planning the project that became Tree of Life for decades. I want to talk this film because Beatty is my cinema hero and this is my cannot wait project (the same way the Malick fans started a fair amount of Tree of Life threads. Hughes like Bugsy fits Beatty well, he was in awe of Hollywood and flying and he was also a bit of a cad. Later Hughes was unvain, crazy even so it will be interesting to see how far Beatty goes in this performance.

deadline.com:

from deadline.com (I think I am amazed)

Deadline told you Monday that Warren Beatty was getting behind the camera for the first time since Bulworth. Paramount and Beatty are keeping details under wraps, but here’s what I’ve heard: He will play Howard Hughes, but it’s not really a biopic; part of the plot involves an affair he had with a young woman in the later years of his life. I’ve heard that he’s going top shelf for the ensemble cast he is putting together. Here is who he’s meeting with: Andrew Garfield, Alec Baldwin, Annette Bening, Shia La Beouf, Jack Nicholson, Evan Rachel Wood and Rooney Mara. Beatty has wanted to play Hughes forever. The courtship of Baldwin is particularly intriguing, since in Martin Scorsese’s superb Howard Hughes movie The Aviator, Baldwin played Hughes’ main adversary, Pan Am World Airways founder Juan Trippe. We’ll see which actors end up making the movie, but it certainly sounds like this project that Beatty wrote and has ruminated on for years is going to happen in a most ambitious way.

about new Beatty project from 411:

It seems that Beatty’s Hughes film actually really could have at least a slight comedic bent.

Back in the 80s, there was a script for the project written by Elaine May, half of the Nichols and May comedy duo and a true champ with the funny stuff.* I’d imagine she’d at least make it wry, if not necessarily packed full of chuckles.

Grey seems to be suggesting that the current script is a full-on By Warren Beatty affair, but that doesn’t mean Mr. B would have changed his basic intent for the film in the last two and a half decades. Once meant to be funny, always meant to be funny? Very possibly.

Still, it remains to be seen what kind of comedy. I expect the sad decline of Hughes into mental illness and obsession will be left outside of the frame.

The 411 report notes that a young version of Hughes is featured in the script, and that a lookalike for Beatty will be sought for those scenes.

Potentially interesting, potentially disastrous. At any rate, I’m glad to see he seems to be getting the opportunity to make a film that he’s wanted to make.

I do not see potential for disaster that you do.

It is a project that is well researched and Beatty works great in comedy.

At worst, it might be a great but small quickly forgotten movie like Get Low (with Duvall)

from ropeofsilicon more interesting speculation:

Beatty is meeting with Andrew Garfield, Alec Baldwin, Annette Bening (big surprise), Shia LaBeouf, Jack Nicholson, Evan Rachel Wood and Rooney Mara for various roles in the film, so it’s possible the Hughes storyline is just a small part of a massive ensemble piece. Nicholson and Baldwin are two of the more interesting names, as Nicholson had a memorable Oscar-nominated supporting role in Beatty’s Reds in 1981 and Baldwin played Hughes’ rival, Pan Am World Airways founder Juan Trippe, in The Aviator.

Christopher Nolan must be having deja vu reading this news since a Howard Hughes biopic has long been a passion project of his. He originally planned to make the film starring Jim Carrey following the release of Insomnia (2002). When it became clear Martin Scorsese would beat him to the punch, he shelved the project and made Batman Begins instead. Still, he has called the script “one of the best things I’ve written.”

Back in February, Vulture reported Nolan wanted to return to the Hughes biopic after The Dark Knight Rises and shoot the film in late 2012 for a 2014 release. While The Aviator focused largely on Hughes’ early years up to 1947, the Nolan film would embrace his OCD-addled later years only hinted at in the closing scenes of The Aviator. The primary source for Nolan’s script is said to be the 1985 book “Citizen Hughes: The Power, the Money and the Madness” by former Washington Post and Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Drosinin. Drosnin’s book leans heavily on over three thousand pages of Hughes’ own handwritten notes, which leaked after his office was burglarized in 1975, just one year before his death.

The material Nolan could pull from ranges from wacky to wackier. Hughes once bought every franchise restaurant in the home state of Texas out of his fear for food safety. He was so concerned about air quality that he installed an aircraft filtration system in the trunk of his 1954 Chrysler New Yorker. He cut his hair and fingernails just once a year and only considered Mormans trustworthy enough to let into his inner circle. To top it off, he was addicted to codeine injections and Baskin Robbins Banana Ripple ice cream. I can actually relate to the latter, though I prefer Ben & Jerry’s Peanut Butter Cup.

Nolan has reached the point of his career where he has enough clout to make damn near any film he wants, especially after Inception. I can’t imagine anyone saying they don’t want to see Nolan’s version of the Howard Hughes story. And honestly, those crazy “way of the future” scenes were the most memorable parts of The Aviator anyway.

Knowing Beatty’s work rate, I suppose it’s also possible Nolan could finish The Dark Knight Rises and his Howard Hughes movie before Beatty releases his. No doubt Hughes is a fascinating figure, I’m just not sure how many times we need to see him depicted on screen. As Achilles might ask, “is there no one else?”

At this point, I just want to see Beatty in something – this doesn’t sound overwhelmingly great, but it’s something.

Any idea where I could get my hands on the script by May?

I would love to get my hands on any unproduced May script

Three years ago, Towne said he was working on a project with Beatty, a father/daughter scam story that L. Lohan was approached to star in, I am glad he went the Hughes route.

…

from vanity faire (and Peter Biskind who wrote a great Beatty book)

Long-Gestating New Film
by Bruce Handy June 23, 2011, 2:45 PM
From PatrickMcMullan.com.It was announced this week that Paramount had signed Warren Beatty to direct and star in his first film since 1998’s Bulworth. Deadline Hollywood further reported that the project would be a Howard Hughes biopic—a project Beatty, a notorious perfectionist and/or obsessive-compulsive noodler, has been known to be toying with for years. VF Daily spoke with Vanity Fair contributing editor Peter Biskind, author of Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America, about the backstory to this project.

VF Daily: How long has Beatty been fooling around with this Hughes project?

Peter Biskind: At least since the 80s, maybe earlier. He’s commissioned several scripts in the course of the history of the project. I read one of them, written by Bo Goldman [Oscar winner for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest], but there were probably scripts before then. There were rumors that Robert Towne [Chinatown] had written a script. God knows how many there are, or have been.

What was the Goldman script like?

Goldman had already written the script for that Jonathan Demme movie (Melvin and Howard). He also had another Hughes script that was never produced. He was sort of an expert on Hughes. It covered the latter part of Hughes’s life, when he was losing his mind. It was a very good script and it emphasized the extent to which Hughes had cut himself off from everybody else—he was a lonely old man. It seemed to have some appeal to Beatty. Or as Goldman put it, Beatty was interested in “the fucking and the flying and the films.” Hughes owned RKO, he was a big player in the movie business and was also known for his womanizing.

In the 30s and 40s, Hughes had as many big-name actresses as Beatty did in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Exactly. And Hughes was a control freak, even more than Beatty. Goldman says stuff like “Warren Beatty is Howard Hughes.” You can understand why Beatty was interested in Hughes as a figure, and was attracted to Hughes as a subject for a movie.

But the script was focusing on the latter part of his life rather than the juicier, Beatty-ish part that Scorsese covered in The Aviator.

Part of it is that as this project dragged on and on, Beatty was getting older, and it would have been hard for him to play the younger Hughes. The older Hughes is just as interesting as the younger Hughes. He was smart to do that. He’s been talking for years about casting the movie and looking for appropriate actors. I would have lunch with him and he would say, “What do you think of X, Y, and Z ?” and I would say, “This has been going on for a long time.” He has a reputation for making expensive movies that go way over budget, and he’s now in his mid-70s, so the question of who’s going to do it, who’s going to finance it, was a big one. But it looks like he’s found a home with Paramount.

The odd thing about the two articles that appeared on Deadline Hollywood is that the first one says he’s going to do a comedy and the second one announces that the project is going to be a Howard Hughes film. I never imagined the Hughes picture as a comedy, nor did Beatty ever indicate that it’s going to be a comedy.

I wonder if there was some misunderstanding.

Then you start thinking, “Are there two movies he’s doing simultaneously?” It seems like the usual Beatty smoke screen, but I don’t know. I would imagine it’s Howard Hughes, but he’s also been talking about doing a sequel to Dick Tracy, which seems like a crazy idea to me. I hope it is a Howard Hughes movie because from what I understand, he’s got a good script. He’s too proud to go out on Town and Country [Beatty’s last starring role, a notoriously over-budget 2001 flop]. Bulworth ¹⁹⁹⁸ I thought was terrific, but he hasn’t had a hit in many, many years. I think he wants to go out on a big movie, both a commercial and a critical success, and I suspect that he’s going to do this. The other thing is that he has been talking about this Hughes picture for so long, you know, it would be an embarrassment if he didn’t make it. So I do believe it’s going to be made.

That’s always a question with Beatty projects. He can be the slowest-moving filmmaker in Hollywood.

He took forever to do Reds [Beatty’s 1981 drama, for which he won an Oscar as best director]. Diane Keaton [Beatty’s co-star and then girlfriend] said to me, “I never thought it was going to happen. I didn’t even think about it until we were actually on the set.” He went through several leading ladies: Julie Christie [a former girlfriend] was supposed to play the role at one point. But he did it. So I think the Hughes movie will eventually happen too, like I said, but how long it’ll take—who knows?

Really stoked that he’s decided to make his Hughes movie after all. What it’ll be like is anyone’s guess at this point as its gone though so many different conceptions over the years.

Beatty procrastinates.Legengarily so. But “Bulworth” (to my mind his very best film) was put together quite quickly. Nice to see him working in any event. He’s been busy having a family over the past decade and a half — plus giving career advcie to the Mrs. (a great historical figure having brought down the biggest tree in the “Confimred Bachelor” forest.)

Is Bulworth still a good film though? I’m not convinced it has aged well.

but hey, that’s just me

Bulworth is as true today as it was in 98, maybe more so

“Nice to see him working in any event. He’s been busy having a family over the past decade and a half — plus giving career advcie to the Mrs. (a great historical figure having brought down the biggest tree in the “Confimred Bachelor” forest.)”

seems they will be working together in this project. not only did she bring the tree down, I have never seen a man more in awe of his film. He practically cries when he talks about her.

from the wrap:

Warren Beatty’s latest project has moved from Paramount Pictures to New Regency, Beatty told TheWrap Friday evening.

Beatty wrote, will star in, produce and direct the movie, which is about the reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes.

Beatty declined to comment on why the picture is no longer at Paramount. And he said the movie is about Hughes but is not a biopic.

Brad Weston, New Regency’s president and CEO, told TheWrap Friday evening that Beatty and New Regency founder Arnon Milchan have been talking “for years” about making the movie.

He said New Regency recently acquired the picture.

A spokesman for Paramount also confirmed the picture’s move.

New Regency is partly owned by and has a distribution deal with Fox.

There had been talk that Alec Baldwin and Jack Nicholson were circling roles in the movie.

Den, i just picked up the Biskind book on Beatty for cheap earlier today. Did i waste my money?

So how many films are there on Howard Hughes? I count Melvin and Howard, The Aviator, and The Hoax (oh, just checked wikipedia, seems Tommy Lee Jones also played Howard Hughes in a film called The Amazing Howard Hughes from 1977). I’m not sure I understand the need for another one but I’d like to see Beatty work again.

biskind is good, a little over critical and salacious

but there are some interesting factoids.

This is still the best book about Beatty

from deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: After a long search, Warren Beatty has chosen Like Crazy star Felicity Jones to play the female lead in the untitled film about reclusive industrialist Howard Hughes. The film is still mobilizing its financing, with New Regency in place as a co-financier after Paramount dropped out. Still, Beatty has begun casting, and he met with many young actresses before deciding on Jones. Her breakthrough came in the Drake Doremus-directed Like Crazy, which has been slowly rolling out in release through Paramount Vantage. The film was acquired by Paramount and Indian Paintbrush when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to high acclaim last January.

Jones will play a young woman who develops a relationship with Hughes’s young driver and confidante, before she falls in love with Hughes. Beatty, who’ll direct and who wrote the script, will play Hughes. He’s narrowing choices for the young male lead, and I’ve heard names ranging from Justin Timberlake to Alden Ehrenreich. Also in the mix for roles are Annette Bening, and potentially Jack Nicholson, Alec Baldwin and Owen Wilson. The film, which Beatty has been working on for years, is expected to start production sometime next year. CAA-repped Jones recently completed another movie directed by Like Crazy‘s Doremus. It shot last summer, and is currently untitled.

Sounds good to me. Felicity Jones is a revelation and while Like Crazy was slightly disappointing, her performance was beautiful. I think she’s a solid choice for any project of substance.

from Hollywood Reporter

Morgan Creek Productions has parted ways with the project as casting director Debra Zane also departs.

our editor recommends
Warren Beatty Returning to Filmmaking With Paramount ProjectWarren Beatty to Be Honored By BAFTA LAWarren Beatty’s planned movie about Howard Hughes is having as much trouble taking off as the Spruce Goose. According to insiders, the project has lost one of its main financiers as well as its award-winning casting director.

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Morgan Creek Productions, the independent outfit that had agreed to back the pic with New Regency when Paramount dropped it in September, has now parted ways with the project. Sources say New Regency, under the direction of Arnon Milchan and Brad Weston, was to split the risk with James G. Robinson’s Morgan Creek, with each company taking a 45 percent stake in the project and producer/financier Steven Bing making up the difference.

A source says the budget is currently in the $47 million range but the producers and potential distributor Fox, where New Regency is based, wanted it brought down to $42 million. Facing an impasse, Morgan Creek has pulled out.

STORY: Michael Douglas, Warren Beatty, Meryl Streep Receive Lifetime Achievement Awards

Meanwhile, sources say Beatty’s hand-picked casting director Debra Zane also has left the project. Zane, one of the top names in the field, has worked on such movies as Get Shorty, American Beauty, Traffic and Dreamgirls. She was said to be looking at potential cast for the drama but left the project due to creative differences that are said to be unrelated to the financial issues.

The Hughes pic is meant to be a comeback of sorts for Beatty, 74, who was last behind the camera with 1998’s Bulworth and last starred in the 2001 film Town & Country.

UPDATE: Reps for Bing and his Shangri-La banner have issued the following statement: New Regency and Steve Bing have always been Warren Beatty’s partner in making the Howard Hughes film. They will continue to be his partner until the film is completed.

So Beatty is today where Jason Robards was at in the 80s….