Bruce Beresford is attached to direct a US drama about a dying man who arranges for an African-American cook to prepare meals for his girlfriend and her daughter when he passes.
Samuel L. Jackson is in talks to play the cook, with Uma Thurman as the woman and Juno Temple as her daughter.
The screenplay is by Susan McMartin, an experienced TV writer whose credits include Two and a Half Men, Gary Unmarried, Californication and Another World.
“It’s a drama but it’s witty and written with a lot of flair, “ Beresford tells IF. The producer is Lee Nelson, who produced the romantic drama Celeste & Jesse Forever and the action-thrillers Chained and Freezer.
The working title is Cook. The intention is to shoot in New Orleans in October, subject to Jackson’s availability.
Beresford signed off on Temple after seeing her audition tape. The English-born actress appears in Maleficent and in the upcoming Far From the Madding Crowd, Sin City: A Dame to Die For, and Black Mass, which co-stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Johnny Depp and Dakota Johnson.
Also on Beresford’s slate is a new version of Swedish director Kay Pollak’s 2004 comedy-drama As It Is in Heaven.
He’s been hired to write and direct the English-language remake by Los Angeles-based producer James Gibb, who was an EP on Odd Thomas, The Door and Silent Night.
The original followed an internationally-renowned conductor who returns to his childhood village in the far north of Sweden after a nervous breakdown. Back home, he experiences some harrowing events.
Beresford sparked to the premise but says, “The original film was wildly eccentric. It needs rethinking. It’s a big undertaking because we really have to make a new film.” The film would be set, and shot, in the US.
Next week he is heading to the Noosa Arts Festival, where his made-for-cable miniseries Bonnie & Clyde (which aired here on SoHo) will be shown on the big screen.
In August he will be in WA for the CinéfestOZ festival, where he will chair the jury that awards the $100,000 prize, Australia’s richest, to the best Australian feature or feature-length documentary.