Although many had expected that the ambitious plan to turn David Mitchell’s multi-story novel Cloud Atlas would fall apart, the Wachowskis and Tom Twyker has pulled it together, assembled a very impressive cast – most of whom will play multiple roles – and shooting starts at the end of the week.
However before cameras roll, there’s just time to add another star name to the movie, with ScreenDaily reporting that Hugh Grant has come onboard. He joins the likes of Halle Berry, Tom Hanks, Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, and Susan Sarandon, with the film following the evolution of a soul as it movies through six separate existences spanning from the early 19th Century into the future.
It’ll be fascinating to see if it works, as not only will it have actors playing multiple roles in different stories that span centuries, but it’s said the actors will also swap genders and races as the movie progresses. Not only that, but two completely separate units will shoot the movie simultaneously, with Andy & Lana Wachowski handling parts of the movie and Tom Twykner filming the rest. It’s very ambitious and could be a disaster, but at the very least it’ll be interesting.
It’s also a surprising move for Grant, who’s not a big fan of working, which is why he’s stuck to simple rom-coms (and exposing phone hacking at New International) for years. This is something very different for him and the sort of challenge he normally shies away from.