While most of us think of Jason Bateman as the kid from Little House on the Prairie, he’s slowly but surely been building his skills behind the camera. In fact, Deadline reports that Bateman is set to direct The Cackling of the Dodos for Netflix, a new film starring Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell.
The Cackling of the Dodos
Based on an original screenplay by Rye Curtis (Kingdomtide), the film follows “small-town farmer George, who has a truly terrible day when he discovers a corpse chilling out in a grain bin and he is unwittingly forced into a chaotic, sloppy cover-up by his boss Denny.” Sounds fun, and anything with Sam Rockwell is a must-watch in my book.
Jason Bateman’s Directorial Career
As I mentioned above, Bateman is no slouch in the director’s chair. Over the years, he’s helmed episodes of Valerie, Family Matters, Arrested Development, The Outsider, Ozark, Black Rabbit, and more. On the feature-film side, he directed Bad Words, a dark comedy about a spelling-bee loser who sets out to exact revenge by finding a loophole and attempting to win as an adult. He also directed The Family Fang, a comedy about a brother and sister who return to their family home in search of their world-famous parents who have disappeared.
Harrelson and Rockwell’s Latest Projects
Harrelson was most recently seen reprising his role of mentalist Merritt McKinney in Now You See Me: Now You Don’t. He also appeared in Ella McCay, the first film from James L. Brooks in 15 years, which was sadly a critical and commercial disappointment. However, it received rave reviews in France, despite Disney pulling the film from release there.
As for Rockwell, he starred in Gore Verbinski’s Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die. He plays a man from the future who arrives in an L.A. diner announcing that he’s here to save the world from A.I., all while recruiting some willing (and unwilling) participants to join him in what may turn out to be humanity’s last stand. You can check out a review from our own Chris Bumbray right here.
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