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Monster Of Florence Attracts Tom Cruise
New film about an Italian serial killer

05 September 2008  |  Written by Chris Hewitt  |  Source: Variety


According to author Douglas Preston – not to be confused with Victoria Wood’s long-time sidekick, Duncan Preston – Tom Cruise and his company, United Artists, have snapped up the rights to his non-fiction book, The Monster Of Florence.

The Monster of Florence was a serial killer who terrorised the Italian city between 1968 and 1985, chalking up eight grisly double murders. To this date, he has never been caught.

Preston’s book actually revolves around a series of conversations that the author had with an Italian journalist, Mario Spezi, after the American had moved to Italy and become fascinated with the case. The two men decide to investigate the murders, even tracking down and talking to the man they believed committed the murders. But, along the way, Preston and Spezi fell foul of the law, with Spezi himself imprisoned on suspicion of being the Monster.

Heady stuff. Cruise will produce the movie and might even star in the movie (we’d guess that he would play Preston, but you never know – he might want to stretch himself with an Italian accent.)

Either way, a decision won’t be made until the script is delivered by Chris McQuarrie, who most recently wrote Valkyrie, Cruise’s forthcoming WWII thriller.

FYI, the most recent Preston novel to make it to the big screen? The schlocky Peter Hyams flick, The Relic. We’re guessing that The Monster Of Florence will be better. Call it a hunch.

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Your Comments

Tom (i am a robot)Cruise
Scientology is a dumbass religion for stupid rich people. Can't be arsed with anthing the umpa lumpa is involved with. More

Posted by Horrorguru at 19:51 on 08 September 2008 | Report This Post

Tom (i am a robot)Cruise
Scientology is a dumbass religion for stupid rich people. Can't be arsed with anthing the umpa lumpa is involved with. More

Posted by Horrorguru at 19:51 on 08 September 2008 | Report This Post

Interesting!
Im a huge fan of the works of Preston & Child. "The Relic" was not on the same level as the book of the same name because the screenplay didnt feature one of the integral characters, Agent Pendergast. I have also read the pretty nasty story of the "Monster of Florence" and how Douglas Preston and his sidekick ended up being accused of crimes themselves related to the case. Not sure how it will transfer to a movie but the book is worth a read if you fancy a dose of serial More

Posted by oldstuff at 22:02 on 06 September 2008 | Report This Post

Well, The Relic was about Peter Hyams' best film of the past 15 years, so all things are relative. But this project as a whole sounds rather interesting, though very Zodiac. Chris McQuarrie can write excellent screenplays if he wants to, and I'm still cautiously optimistic regarding Valkyrie. More

Posted by Manfrendshensindshen at 12:03 on 06 September 2008 | Report This Post


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