Roman Polanski lines up next film with an Oscar-winning cast

Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and Matt Dillon – all of whom have won an Oscar, with the exception of Dillon (though in fairness, he probably should’ve won for HERBIE: FULLY LOADED) – have signed on to star in GOD OF CARNAGE, the next film from Roman Polanski. The film is based on the play “Le Dieu du Carnage” which first ran in Zurich before successful runs in London and on Broadway (where James Gandolfini, Marcia Gay Harden, Jeff Daniels and Hope Davis starred).

The film will follow two parents from Brooklyn who agree to meet after their sons have a physical altercation at a playground. What is supposed to be a civilized discussion turns into something a little more heated. Polanski has adapted the script himself and it’s unclear how closely it hews to the original material. As you can probably tell, the material, as originally written, is very much a stage show. It has basically one setting (the interior of one couple’s home) and one of the critiques of the show was, as the NY Times said, that it “doesn’t amount to much.” The play also was much more humorous than you might expect and this cast and crew doesn’t much look like the humorous type.

Though the film is set in Brooklyn, it will film in Paris for obvious reasons. It’s an interesting choice for Foster who just this week was busy defending a collaborator in Mel Gibson (THE BEAVER) and may have to do so again for Polanski. Whatever the case, I’m sure it will result in at least a couple of Oscar nominations with this cast…