This is an older article, so apologies in advance if you've seen it already or if some of the information feels a bit dated, but I stumbled upon this over at indieWIRE while doing some research and wanted to share it with you all:So after a five year absence, “Little Miss Sunshine” directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Farisare returning with “He Loves Me Not,” a whimsical-sounding project—described as a mix of “Adaptation” and “Weird Science”—written by actress Zoe Kazan that will star herself, her boyfriend Paul Dano and possibly Jeff Bridges if all goes well. Fox Searchlight announced it had picked up the picture and it would shoot later this summer. Finally!
Rewinding the tape a little bit, earlier this year it was reported that James Franco may or may not be directing an adaptation of “Blood Meridian” which seemed to be news to producer Scott Rudin (he owns the rights and it appears that Franco’s take on it was unsolicited). What we were more concerned with was: what did this mean for Todd Field? Director of two great little dramas, “In the Bedroom” and “Little Children,” the actor/filmmaker had been developing the aforementioned bleak and bloodyCormac McCarthy novel for what felt like ages. Both stories made us think of Field, Dayton/Faris and a host of other directors who haven’t made a film in years for one reason or another. So here’s five filmmakers who haven’t made a feature-length film in over five years, some of the reasons why, and what they are cooking up next.
