West with the Night
status - In Dev't., Regular, pre-production 6/23/11
The story of Beryl Markham, from her wild childhood days in Colonial Africa, through her affairs with pilots Denys Finch-Hatton and Tom Campbell Black, to her history making westward solo flight over the Atlantic.
Atlas Entertainment, Kava Prod., Warner Bros.
Director -
Writer - Mikko Alanne
source - Beryl Markham
Producers - Chuck Roven, Steve Alexander
Studio Exec - Courtenay Valenti
This info comes courtesy of Mikko Alanne who wrote in his IMDb bio that he "is currently finishing West with the Night for Angelina Jolie at Warner Bros." Alanne is also the screenwriter for Angelina's Franklin and Winston so he seems to be a credible source. Furthermore, Angelina is an easy and obvious match for the "impetuous, single-minded and beautiful" Markham and would have a natural affinity for the story of the intrepid and pioneering aviator.
While West With the Night is still not listed on IMDb, Production Weekly's June 23 issue indicates that pre-production has already started. This effectively puts it ahead of Salt 2 which has yet to appear on Prod Weekly's list.
Angelina is very picky about her directors and her recent choices -- Fincher, Aronofsky, Russell -- were all 2011 Best Director nominees. So the filmmakers behind West must have someone in hand of equal stature that explains why they seem confident they can fast-track West behind Cleopatra and Maleficent*.
Atlas Entertainment, Kava Productions' Lloyd Phillips and Warner Bros. are all currently working together with Chris Nolan on The Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel. That strongly hints that Nolan could be offered the job. For Nolan, West could be a very attractive assignment because: 1) He and Beryl Markham are both British and she is the sort of complex and morally conflicted character he is typically attracted to, 2) he previously wanted to do a Howard Hughes biopic but might now have to shelve it after Warren Beatty announced his own HH project and this may be an even better story, 3) he has no other directing project lined up 4) although she has never been quoted about him, there seems little question that Angelina would want to work with Nolan, and 5) Oscar voters adore period films with British subjects and this could be Nolan's best bet to land a Best Director nom or even a win.
If Angelina films Maleficent before the end of the year, she could do West after Cleopatra and before Salt 2. This would mean that Angelina will be starring in two biopics in a row but Markham is a far less known figure and West will be a much smaller production. As a period piece shot mostly in Africa, it can probably be made for under $100M as against the reported $200M budget for Cleopatra. It will likely be a Fall Awards drama film unlike Cleopatra which with its lavish sets and epic battles clearly has blockbuster potential.
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*Unforgiven is actually listed on The Grid as Angelina's only greenlit project and a 3/30/11 entry said it was set up in Columbia and that filming was supposedly scheduled to start last May. But to-date it still needs a director and there has been no further update on the project. It is also not listed at all in IMDb -- not even among Graham King's projects in development -- even though Mike Fleming first broke the news about it late last year. So until there is further news, I am putting Unforgiven at the back of the queue.
