Kevin Spacey has booked his latest film project just weeks after winning a sexual battery lawsuit in the U.S., an individual with knowledge of the casting told TheWrap on Monday.
The two-time Oscar winner will voice a mysterious and murderous antagonist who takes control of a self-driving car, akin to Kiefer Sutherland’s vocal performance in Joel Schumacher’s “Phone Booth.”
The film, entitled “Control” and written and directed by Gene Falliaze, is about a British government minister, Stella Simmons (Lauren Metcalf), who has an affair with the Prime Minister (Mark Hampton). One night, Simmons heads home in her self-driving car to find the vehicle remotely hijacked by someone who knows her secret and wants to punish her.
Shooting will take place early next year at Camberwell Studios and on location in London, while Spacey will wrap his purely voice-over role this week. The actor recently won a $40 million civil trial in New York after a jury found that he did not molest former co-star Anthony Rapp and was thus not liable for battery. The actor faces a deluge of other legal challenges including in the U.K. where he is set to and trial next summer after being charged — and pleading not guilty to — with five counts of sexual battery.
Earlier this month, the U.K.’s Crown Prosecution Service said it was charging the actor with a further seven sexual offenses, all related to one complainant. Spacey has not yet appeared in court to enter a plea. Spacey had also been ordered to pay “House of Cards” producer MRC $31 million in damages after the blockbuster Netflix show was cancelled following the initial wave of abuse allegations in late 2017.
“Control” is produced by Adam Southwick (“Cain Hill”) and Emily Hasseldine (“Beneath”) for Cupsogue Pictures in association with CineNorth Studios. Fallaize also executive produces.
Fallaize told Variety he “grew up” watching Spacey as a film fan and said while the controversy surrounding Spacey was “a consideration, I wouldn’t say it was a concern.” He’s one of the greatest actors of our generation,” Fallaize continued. “His personal life aside — it’s something I can’t comment on and have no knowledge of — it’s an opportunity to work with one of the acting greats.”
While Fallaise wrote the script for “Control” with Spacey in mind, this shouldn’t be seen as the start of a major comeback.
It’s a vocal performance in a British indie thriller that like “The Billionaire Boys Club” — which was filmed before the allegations but released several months after, will be more talked about online (due to Spacey’s involvement) than actually seen by paying customers.
Spacey hadn’t been a box office draw for over a decade before the allegations, but he brought added value and prestige to films like “Margin Call in 2011,” “Horrible Bosses 2 in 2013” and “Baby Driver in 2017” along with Netflix’s first big-deal original series in 2013. Sans that prestige, talent notwithstanding, small roles in small films like “Control” may be the best case scenario for the disgraced performer.
