As soon as Robert Redford wraps the Civil War-era legal drama "The Conspirator," the director will segue to the feature adaptation of Neil Gordon’s novel "The Company You Keep," based on the novel by Neil Gordon, reports Variety.
Redford, who made his directorial debut in 1980 with Best Picture winner "Ordinary People," hasn’t directed a really good movie since 1994’s "Quiz Show," though early reports regarding "The Conspirator," and Robin Wright Penn’s performance as Mary Surratt in particular, sound very promising. Jeff Wells read the shooting draft of James Solomon’s script and called it a "a sturdily-written, high-calibre thing" that, barring catastrophe, is almost certain to earn Penn a Best Actress nomination if it lands a distributor willing to spend on an awards campaign.
Longtime Steven Soderbergh collaborator Lem Dobbs ("The Limey") is adapting "The Company You Keep," which follows a small-town lawyer and single father who embarks on a cross-country quest to clear his name after he finds himself involved in a murder investigation linked to members of a radical group in the late ’70s.
Publisher’s Weekly describes the story as a "mix of countercultural drama and familial schmaltz" that "skillfully combines a tense fugitive procedural, full of intriguing lore about false identities and techniques for losing a tail, with a nuanced exploration of boomer nostalgia and regret."
Oscar winners Nicholas Chartier and Greg Shapiro ("The Hurt Locker") will produce the project through their production company Voltage Pictures. If "The Company You Keep" winds up being a major player in a future awards season, expect Chartier to be on his best behavior after last year’s controversy surrounding his private lobbying on behalf of Kathryn Bigelow’s eventual Best Picture winner "The Hurt Locker."
While Redford has never before directed back-to-back films in consecutive years, "The Company You Keep" is set to begin production this summer. Redford told the Hollywood Reporter in January 2009 that the movie was one of three projects vying for first position in his schedule, along with an adaptation of Bill Bryson’s "A Walk in the Woods," and a film about how Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson broke into the major leagues.
