Regardless of how the man has performed in the last decade or so, one can’t deny that Brian De Palma is a great director. Why? Two movies in particular: CARRIE and SCARFACE. Sure, both were made nearly 30 years ago, but that doesn’t stop them from being solid films and classics in their own right.
De Palma has had a touch time pulling a film off (since 1996’s MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE–though I was always a fan of SNAKE EYES), so let’s hope his next project is one that will propel him back to A-list director status.
De Palma just signed up to direct THE BOSTON STRANGLERS for Gale Anne Hurd’s Valhalla Motion Pictures (who also produced next week’s HULK). STRANGLERS is based on the non-fiction novel “The Boston Stranglers: The Public Conviction of Albert DeSalvo and the True Story of Eleven Shocking Murders” from Susan Kelly, regarding the early-’60s Beantown killings and their controversial resolution.
I don’t really keep up on true crime, but here’s some more details on the incident: The Strangler case continues to stir debate. Many question whether Albert DeSalvo — a publicity hound who confessed to the murders and was later stabbed to death while incarcerated on unrelated charges — was the actual killer.
Sounds like the perfect vehicle for De Palma–something he could really dig his teeth into and deliver the goods on. More so, than say, THE BLACK DAHLIA, which had potential to rock but fell short in the end.
Keep it here for more updates on THE BOSTON STRANGLERS as casting is surely around the corner, and spit some bullets below on whether YOU think De Palma has what it takes to be a great director all over again.
The best part of THE BLACK DAHLIA–Scarlett Johansson!
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