The last time we heard of Ian Curtis-biopic “Control” director Anton Corbijn’s second feature, its name had been changed from the original title of Martin Booth’s novel “A Very Private Gentleman” to “The American.” Now, courtesy of Mr. Corbijn himself, we have a few updates thanks to a new blog he has started chronicling the post-production stages of the film.
The blog, which has only one entry since its creation in January, reveals that most of the film was shot in Venice and around Italy last fall and the beginning of the film is now being shot in Sweden with leading man George Clooney. Following this, the film will be edited with a September 1st release date in mind. Corbijn hopes to use the blog for status updates regarding the movie during the editing process.
The first entry also includes three gorgeous stills (taken by Corbijn himself, an established photographer, see one above) taken on set. Hopefully the film itself will be as evocatively mysterious as the images on the blog.
‘Gentleman’ tells the story of an assassin (Clooney) who hides in a southern Italian village and masquerades as an artist who paints miniature butterflies. He tries to find a rare butterfly in the area and carry out a last assignment while also getting involved with various romantic and social relationships. It is unknown how faithfully Rowan Joffe’s screenplay for ‘American’ sticks to Booth’s novel. The film also features European actors Thekla Reuten, Bruce Altman, Paolo Bonacelli, and Violante Placido, and has “The Men Who Stare At Goats” director Grant Heslov on board as a producer.
This sounds pretty amazing. Corbijn's pacing and imagery saved Control for me, seeing as it was a realist drama about a reprehensible subject. With a more fanciful plot, I think Corbijn could make something compelling and gorgeous.