You might remember that back in November, Daniel Radcliffe was looking to continue his post-Potter period by playing Beat generation writer Allen Ginsberg in drama Kill Your Darlings. It now appears that he’s locked in a deal – and he’s not the only one, as Elizabeth Olsen, Dane DeHaan and Jack Huston are all now onboard.
John Krokidas is directing from his script, bringing to life the story of how a murder affected the lives of Ginsberg, Kerouac (Huston), William S Burroughs and Edie Parker (Olsen). David Kammerer was obsessed with Lucien Carr (DeHaan), who accidentally killed him in a drunken fight, then dumped his body in the Hudson River. Carr confessed the murder to his friends, who covered for him, only for Burroughs and Kerouac to be arrested. Burroughs was bailed by his father, but Kerouac had to rely on wealthy art student girlfriend Parker – who he married while in jail – to get him out.
Olsen made a big impact at least year’s Sundance fest in Martha Marcy May Marlene (which finally arrives over here on February 3). DeHaan will be seen in found footage superpower drama Chronicle, which is due on February 1, and Huston has been doing great work as war wounded assassin Richard Harrow on HBO prohibition-era gangster series Boardwalk Empire.
Now that he’s finally dragged the film through a tricky development stage (he’s lost at least one complete set of actors in the process of digging up finance and sorting schedules), Krokidas will start shooting in March at Columbia.