Kubrick’s last lives?

You usually only see post-mortem releases coming from rappers, but Stanley Kubrick always was one to defy tradition. His family has begun talking about bringing his last, unfinished film to the big screen, and they even know who they want to direct.

In the early ‘90s, Kubrick was going to make a film called ARYAN PAPERS, which was about a Jewish Polish woman and her nephew who pretend to be Catholic to hide from the Nazis during World War II. Unfortunately, another little Holocaust film came along right about that time made by Kubrick’s good buddy Steven Spielberg. And when SCHINDLER’S LIST swept the Oscars and instantly became the most iconic Holocaust film of all time, both Kubrick and Warner Bros. decided it was probably best to shelve PAPERS.

But now 20 years later, it seems the time has come to revist things. Warner Bros. still owns the rights to the project and Kubrick’s brother-in-law, producer Jan Harlan says he’d like Ang Lee to step up to the plate to direct.

So what to make of all this? Kubrick wrote the screenplay yes, but will it effectively transfer to film without him behind the camera? The prime example would be his last “last” project, A.I., as some might argue that another director taking over messed that film right up. What would happen this time around?