Cinematic recreations of the life of notorious Australian/Irish outlaw Ned Kelly stretch all the way back to the dawn of feature films. 1906's The Story of the Kelly Gang is considered to be the first full-length feature, and there have been numerous movies on Kelly since including ones led by the likes of Mick Jagger and Heath Ledger. Now another tale of the dangerous bushranger and his gang is on the way, this time from Macbeth director Justin Kurzel.
Kurzel is set to direct an adaptation of True History of the Kelly Gang, based on Peter Carey's award-winning novel. The screenplay will be written by Shaun Grant, who penned Kurzel's breakout debut film, The Snowtown Murders. Here's the book's synopsis:
“I lost my own father at 12 yr. of age and know what it is to be raised on lies and silences my dear daughter you are presently too young to understand a word I write but this history is for you and will contain no single lie may I burn in Hell if I speak false.”
In True History of the Kelly Gang, the legendary Ned Kelly speaks for himself, scribbling his narrative on errant scraps of paper in semiliterate but magically descriptive prose as he flees from the police. To his pursuers, Kelly is nothing but a monstrous criminal, a thief and a murderer. To his own people, the lowly class of ordinary Australians, the bushranger is a hero, defying the authority of the English to direct their lives. Indentured by his bootlegger mother to a famous horse thief (who was also her lover), Ned saw his first prison cell at 15 and by the age of 26 had become the most wanted man in the wild colony of Victoria, taking over whole towns and defying the law until he was finally captured and hanged. Here is a classic outlaw tale, made alive by the skill of a great novelist.
Kurzel is reuniting with his Macbeth stars Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard for video game adaptation, Assassin's Creed. Given their successful work history don't be surprised if their names pop up for this, as well. Let's hope so, anyway. [IF via ThePlaylist]
