Sunday, May 22, 2016

Update on "The Good House"

This morning, thanks to Jamie (one of our devoted readers), my attention was brought to an article that author Ann Leary gave to the Massachusetts Telegram regarding her new book, The Children.  Leary of course also penned The Good House, the novel that three years ago was announced would be turned into a feature film starring Streep and Robert De Niro.  Of interest in this article was that at the very end, Leary is quoted as saying:

It's still in the development stage.  They're really working on getting the best script they can get.  The producers have been fabulous about including me in the process of reading drafts, talking with them about the characters.  Like 'The Children,' it's a character-driven book; it's not so much the plot but the characters that drive the narrative. They are so interested in being true to the characters.

I'm at least encouraged to know that the film is still in the works, and from the context of the article, Meryl appears to remain attached to star.  Also that they're working hard to make sure the script is as good as it can be.  The interviewer suggests that Leary hopes that pre-production will begin soon.  

What concerns me, however, is that they're still not satisfied with the script.  It's been three years since Michael Cunningham began developing the screenplay.  I wonder if that's why we have never heard of a director's name attached; they perhaps want the script complete before they officially shop it around.  I imagine they have to have certain people in mind, however.  

If this gets put into pre-production by the end of the summer, could shooting begin in time for a 2017 release?  That doesn't seem impossible at this point.  Many parts of the book include events taking place around fall and winter, so perhaps filming wouldn't wrap before early next year.  Complicating things is the fact that Martin Scorsese's The Irishman, set to star De Niro, was just picked up for international distribution at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this week.  Scorsese is said to be aiming at filming beginning in early 2017.  Would this make De Niro unavailable for The Good House?  

I'm not holding my breath regardless, but I maintain that the character of Hildy Good could be a wonderful opportunity for Meryl to shine.  It would be fantastic to so see this project finally come to fruition.


4 comments:

  1. On page 3 of this article:

    http://marblehead.wickedlocal.com/article/20160601/NEWS/160609544/?Start=3

    "Tribeca productions is the producer and that’s Robert De Niro’s company. He’s attached as the main male character and there was a huge announcement that Meryl Streep is attached, and she just gets the best scripts so she’s been very busy. They’ve been trying to figure out if they’ll be able to fit her with her very busy schedule. Hopefully that will still work out."

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  2. Meryl have a busy schedule? Wow okay I don't know any project that she will do ... I hope that she will do the good house , I would really love to see Robert and Meryl again together
    What do you think about that ?

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  3. Long Winded PessimistJune 3, 2016 at 9:28 AM

    Busy??? She hasn't filmed in a year and still has nothing else even remotely linked to her name. (Yes I am bitter about this)

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  4. I know, she has nothing in the pipeline officially. If it's true that they're hoping she could "fit it in," then it appears that it shouldn't be an issue. I wonder if the script is a big issue. Why haven't we ever heard the name of a director attached?! This should have NO problem filming by fall/winter.

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