Despite a lot of decent reviews and a couple of Oscar nominations, Oren Moverman’s film, The Messenger, starring Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster, seems to have managed to escape most people’s attention. Indeed, it’s yet to make an appearance in the UK.
However the film did ignite interest in what Moverman might do next, with reports he’s working on a Kurt Cobain biopic, as well as This Side Of The Looking Glass, about the caregiver to an old wirter, who’s actually an assassin sent to kill the fading man.
Now comes news via Production Weekly that ‘Woody Harrelson & Ben Foster may reunite with The Messenger writer/director Oren Moverman on his next project the crime-drama Rampart.’ Although there’s little news on exactly what the film is, it appears it’s the one set up at Mark Gordons company, which is based on a script written by James Ellroy and was originally intended to be directed by Stephen Frears.
The flick will be about the LA Rampart Division scandal (which also inspired the likes of The Shield and Training Day), where massive misconduct was uncovered in the anti-gang unit in the late 90s, which covered everything from stealing cocaine from the police lock-up and armed robbery, to framing innocent people for shootings the police had done themselves. Rampart officers were even implicated in the conspiracy to murder The Notorious B.I.G.
It’s something L.A. Confidential author James Ellroy has said he’s fascinated with, and a film through his eyes about exactly what makes people who signed up to protect the public turn to crime themselves, would certainly be interesting. And with Moverman, Harrelson and Foster onboard, it looks like it might actually happen.