I’m now hearing, from two separate sources, that S. Craig Zahler’s next film will be “The Big Stone Grid,” for which Zahler’s screenplay was originally supposed to be directed by Michael Mann in 2012.
The film is being described to me as a “crime-noir” with “horror elements,” akin to Fincher’s “Se7en” and Schlesinger’s “Marathon Man.” The story tackles two decorated detectives who uncover a terrifying extortion ring, filled with sadistic murders, that operates within the secret underbelly of New York City.
Casting details should be coming shortly.
This is great news as Zahler is one of the more interesting cinematic voices to have emerged the last decade. He hasn’t even gotten his due with critics either. Is it because of the film media constantly wondering what his political affiliations are? Does anyone outside of their bubble actually give a damn? Of course not. That hasn’t stopped The Daily Beast from proclaiming him “the filmmaker making movies for the MAGA crowd.” Zahler has inasisted that he is "not politically driven; I'm not very politically interested,” believing in the philosophy of "art over politics."
Zahler’s three films as a director, “Bone Tomahawk”, “Brawl In Cell Block 99,” and, especially, “Dragged Across Concrete,” speak for themselves. These are singular works from a singular voice. Zahler’s very much what one might qualify as a methodical filmmaker, depicting the madness of morally tortured men. His dialogue packs a satisfying snap and the action almost always plays out in unbearably excruciating fashion.
It’s been six years since “Dragged Across Concrete,” and, in January, Zahler had hinted in a blog post that a “big announcement” was coming later in the year.
Meanwhile, Ridley Scott is adapting Zahler’s novel, “Wraiths of the Broken Land” as his next film, a westen. Production should begin soon on that one.
Last year, it was a real downer to hear that what was supposed to be Zahler’s next film, “Hug Chickenpenny,” had been scrapped due to lack of financing. The ambitious project was based on his own book, titled “Hug Chickenpenny: The Panegyric of an Anomalous Child”, a gothic tale involving puppets — Zahler had hinted at a 3-hour black and white movie reminiscent of Lynch’s “Elephant Man.” He had a cast and the Jim Henson company was involved, but he could not get proper financing.