Back at the end of September, tentative reports started emerging that Wes Anderson was at work on his next project. Nobody knew what it was, but details are now starting to emerge about Moon Rise Kingdom**, and its potentially amazing cast of Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton and Frances McDormand.
Everyone's "in talks" at the moment, so nothing's set in stone. But along with the possible stars comes the heads up on the roles they'd be playing, which, in turn, fleshes out the story. It's set in the 1960s, and we had heard that Anderson was on the lookout for two twelve-year-olds to centre the film, but the term Deadline uses is "young adults". Whatever, the basic thrust seems to be that the boy and girl in question fall in love and run away from their New England home, and the great and good of the town come out in search of them.
Norton is up for the role of a scout master who brings his troupe out on the hunt. Willis would play the town's sheriff, who's having an affair with McDormand, who is the mother of the missing girl. And no Wes Anderson film (apart from Bottle Rocket) would be complete without the presence of Murray, who'd be McDormand's husband and the girl's father. There's no mention yet of the character earmarked for Swinton.
A period-set movie about two children on the run can't help but evoke happy memories of Night of the Hunter, but in Anderson's hands it could end up as practically anything. And there's no mention yet of any hidden cash or mad preachers. Maybe that's Swinton's role...
Anderson wrote the script with Roman Coppola, and Scott Rudin and Steven Rales are producing, in basically the same set up as The Darjeeling Limited and Fantastic Mr Fox. Rales, who isn't short of a few million quid, is also likely funding the film through his company Indian Paintbrush. Shooting starts in the spring.