Whoa, seriously? Richard Kelly, the director behind the trippy Donnie Darko and atrocious Southland Tales, teaming up with Nicolas Cage, the guy who practically has "weird" stamped on his forehead? This could be the strangest film ever! Oh wait...it's a courtroom drama? Based on a true story? Eh. Oh well, could still be fun I guess.
Variety reports the two will pair up for Amicus, with Kelly writing, directing, and producing the film based on the story of Rodney A. Smolla, an award-winning 1st Amendment scholar. The true story is pretty crazy, and begins with Lawrence Horn, a former record exec who hires hitman James Perry to murder his wife, crippled son, and his caretaker in order to collect the insurance money. Both are caught and convicted of the murders, with Perry revealing that he came up with his plan to kill them by reading the book Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors. The family would sue the publisher of the book, with Smolla brought in to consult them on the issue, later referring to the book as akin to "a loaded pistol or a vial of poison". He would go on to write his own book, Deliberate Intent: A Lawyer Tells the True Story of Murder by the Book, which was adapted for the small screen with Timothy Hutton playing Smolla. I find it hard to believe this will be a straight up courtroom flick, and expect Kelly and Cage to do something bonkers with the material. Now let's see who they get to play Horn and Perry. Amicus is set to begin production in January.
