When we learned that Will Ferrell would be playing director Russ Meyer in RUSS & ROGER GO BEYOND, the dramatization of his relationship with Roger Ebert, the project still didn’t have a director. Now, almost 9 months later, and a name has surfaced as a likely possibility for the chair: Michael Winterbottom.
Winterbottom’s the British helmer behind stuff as varied as the two TRIP movies, 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE, the Angelina Jolie starrer A MIGHTY HEART, and the excellent, underrated THE KILLER INSIDE ME. He’s worked with Steve Coogan quite a bit, with the pair also being responsible for the ambitious TRISTRAM SHANDY: A COCK AND BULL STORY and THE LOOK OF LOVE.
It’s that latter film that makes me think he’s an absolutely ideal fit for this project, which will depict the 1969/1970 production of BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. Winterbottom's biopic of Paul Raymond, who, like Meyer, also rose to a prominent position in the 1960’s through his sex-riddled exploits, took on the decade in a way that felt vibrant, fresh, and unpredictable. Its form and structure were very fluid, alternating between time points and perspectives freely which, while taking somewhat of a toll on the pacing, ended up creating a unique, loving pastiche of London in the swinging ‘60s and early ‘70s. It would take this kind of brazen refusal against normalcy to depict the making of BEYOND THE VALLEY OF A DOLLS in a manner akin to that of the film in question, and Winterbottom’s got both the name recognition and the creative bravery to do an outlandish project like this justice.
The current rumor is that COMEDIAN Josh Gad will be donning Roger Ebert’s legendary specs alongside Ferrell’s Russ Meyer, but we’ll hear confirmation on that before the project goes in front of cameras later this year.
Even if you haven’t seen BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (which you absolutely should…it could be your happening, and freak you out), this flick remains one of the most intriguing fictional projects out there for us film fans right now. Really looking forward to this one, especially if they get Winterbottom to sign the dotted line.
