Rumor: DiCaprio & Maguire Are Remaking The Third Man?
Another rumor to chew over this fine Friday afternoon. CHUD is reporting that Canal+ from France is gearing up to remake Carol Reed's 1949 classic The Third Man that starred Orson Welles and Bernard Lee. Apparently none other than Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire are already cast and helping develop the project. While they say it doesn't have a director yet, the screenplay is being written by Steven Knight, of Dirty Pretty Things and Eastern Promises. Sounds like a lot of great talent, but of course, is a remake of The Third Man even necessary or desired? It's a true noir classic that really can't be topped.
The Third Man is a noir mystery set in Austria's capital city Vienna, devastated and recovering from the World War II. An American pulp writer arrives in Vienna only to find that the friend who waited for him is killed under mysterious circumstances. The ensuing mystery entangles him in his friend's involvement in the black market, with the multinational police, and with his Czech girlfriend. Criterion released a Blu-Ray of The Third Man earlier this year. According to sources, the remake is just going out for bidding now and it always could fall through, though if it's at Canal+, it will probably get funding soon. We'll keep you updated!
WOW. This is pretty ridiculous news. I kinda hope it's true. DiCaprio and Maguire, two of the best actors of this generation teaming up in a noir film by the writer of Eastern Promises! That's pretty crazy, and I think they are both certainly capable of pulling of something like this. I'll be sure to post more news on this if anything else pops up about it.
