Seems there's a very intriguing project currently in the early stages, and you can count me on board from now. Vern at Ain't It Cool News has a fascinating interview up with Christopher Garetano, a young director who is pitching a script for a movie called South Texas Blues.An ardent TCM fanatic, Garetano has written a screenplay all about the making of Tobe Hooper's original 1974 classic. Not a documentary, mind you, but a fictional movie based on the making of the film (think Shadow of the Vampire or Ed Wood). Further, he plans to include a lot of fantasy or magical realism moments as well (think The Big Lebowski or The Fisher King), making this a very unique concept indeed.
Part of what interests me is Garetano's casting ideas. For instance, he happens to be good friends with Ed Neal, who played the deranged hitchhiker in the original movie, and is considering casting him in the role of Jim Siedow, the actor who played his older brother in the original. And in a particularly inspired move, for the role of Neal he's hoping to cast Ray McKinnon, who played the preacher on the first season of HBO's superb Deadwood. Anyone who's a fan of that show should understand how perfect McKinnon is for the part.
It's a pretty in-depth interview, so I'd suggest checking it out to get the full idea. Garetano seems like a bit of a flake at times, but then, most great thinkers are, so I wouldn't be surprised if this turns out to be quite a piece of work.
Here's a little featurette Garetano put together for potential investors in the film. I know if I was an obscenely rich producer, I'd certainly risk a couple mill on it:
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Almost forgot, I find it necessary to acknowledge the box office triumph this week of Meet the Spartans. This is the strongest evidence I've gotten in years to support my long-held hypothesis that most people are stupid.