The Coen Brothers script for a remake of the 1966 Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine flick Gambit has been floating around Hollywood for eons, with the likes of Doug Liman and several other circling to direct, before moving on. While it has started to look like one of those projects that would never get made, a couple of months ago it was announced that funding had been found and Michael Hoffman (The Last Station) had stepped up to direct.
Now it appears the movie has found its main star, with Deadline reporting that Colin Firth is in talks to take on the Michael Caine role. In the original Caine played a cat burglar who tries to rob a billionaire of his priceless statue and enlists the help of a waitress who is a dead ringer for the victim’s late wife. While the burglar has carefully planned the job in his head, the execution is complicated by his relationship with his pretty accomplice.
Previous reports suggested the hope was to shoot the film next May, and it’s now been added that filming will take place in London and Texas.