First up, KILLER JOE – The William Friedkin (BUG, TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A.) black comedy – which also stars Matthew McConaughey and Emile Hirsch – is an adaptation based on the play by Tracy Letts “about a detective who doubles as a hired killer.” Church will play the role of Hirsch’s father.
Next, WE BOUGHT A ZOO – Director Cameron Crowe (ELIZABETHTOWN, JERRY MAGUIRE) seems to be finally getting some traction on a project after being MIA these past five years. The musically-inclined filmmaker is returning with ZOO, an adaptation of the memoirs of Benjamin Mee, which tells the pretty incredible true story of a family that moved into a rundown zoo. Here’s more (via Amazon):
In the market for a house and an adventure, Benjamin Mee moved his family to an unlikely new home: a dilapidated zoo in the English countryside. Mee had a dream to refurbish the zoo and run it as a family business. His friends and colleagues thought he was crazy.
But in 2006, Mee and his wife with their two children, his brother, and his 76-year-old mother moved into the Dartmoor Wildlife Park. Their extended family now included: Solomon, an African lion and scourge of the local golf course; Zak, the rickety Alpha wolf, a broadly benevolent dictator clinging to power; Ronnie, a Brazilian tapir, easily capable of killing a man, but hopelessly soppy; and Sovereign, a jaguar and would-be ninja, who has devised a long term escape plan and implemented it.
Nothing was easy, given the family’s lack of experience as zookeepers, and what follows is a magical exploration of the mysteries of the animal kingdom, the power of family, and the triumph of hope over tragedy. We Bought a Zoo is a profoundly moving portrait of an unforgettable family living in the most extraordinary circumstances.
Church can currently be seen with future Mary Jane (?) Emma Stone in EASY A.