What's next for the recently Oscar-nominated: Pt 1 - Writer/Directors
Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 2:34PM With the 95th Academy Awards wrapped, it's time to look to the future. Herewith a quick little series about what's in store for the recently nominated. Let's start with the writer/directors.
EDWARD BERGER
The 52 year old director behind Germany's latest Oscar winner, All Quiet on the Western Front, was surely thisclose to snagging an Oscar nomination for his directing (given how well the film did across the board) but he had to make due with sharing a writing nomination. His credits to date have largely been on German television but he'd already made inroads into Hollywood prior to the World War I Oscar magnet, directing episodes of two Showtime series, Your Honor and Patrick Melrose.
Let's just say he's very busy. He's already shot a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps (as a miniseries) starring Benedict Cumbatch. Around the time of the Oscar nomination he was also shooting a religious thriller Conclave...
It's based on the novel by Robert Harris, and stars Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, and John Lithgow as cardinals selecting a new Church leader. Finally there's a miniseries Helltown starring Oscar Isaac as the famous novelist Kurt Vonnegut!
THE DANIELS
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert were on promotional / campaign duties for Everything Everywhere All At Once for nearly an entire year. They're either due a vacation or getting back behind cameras again instead of smiling in front of them. The only thing in development currently is a TV comedy called Mason.
TODD FIELD
Field was absent from movie screens for 16 long years between Little Children and TÁR so we shouldn't hold our breath for film #4. He was involved with the writing of two adaptations before TÁR including a take on William Finnegan's memoir Barbarian Days and Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian... but again we aren't holding our breath for the next film. Let's just hope it isn't 16 years away since he turned 59 last month.
RIAN JOHNSON
Johnson scored his second writing nomination for his Knives Out sequel Glass Onion. He's attached to several projects including a third Benoit Blanc mystery for Netflix, a new Star Wars trilogy and a possible Gene Kelly biopic. But before the next movie you can always enjoy his terrific freshman series Poker Face on Peacock starring Natasha Lyonne as a woman on the run from people who'd like her dead. It's comfortably in his comic whodunnit wheelhouse and the gimmick is that she always knows when people are lying even if that doesn't mean she knows what the truth is. It's ridiculously fun and the icing on the cake is that there are jokes in almost every episode that only cinephiles will get. Johnson also has another TV series in the works called The Whites which is based on the novel by Richard Price and will star Ethan Hawke.
MARTIN MCDONAGH
The only thing on the docket is an untitled project that will reportedly star Oscar Isaac, Sam Rockwell, and Christopher Walken.
RUBEN OSTLUND
The Triangle of Sadness satirist is apparently not returning to Swedish language films just yet. His next project (plot is a secret) might be called The Entertainment System is Down and might star Woody Harrelson.
SARAH POLLEY
She generally takes a long time between pictures. Though there's nothing "official" happening yet, post Women Talking, on the red carpet at the Oscars she alluded to a project inspired by the intense campaigning of awards season.
STEVEN SPIELBERG
The world's most famous director never stops working. He always has dozens of projects in various stages of development. The only concrete things happening at the moment are producing (including two possible Oscar contenders for this year: the new musical version of The Color Purple and the Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro), and executive producing (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny). As to what his next directorial gig will be... who knows? One possibility is a reboot of Bullitt (the Steve McQueen classic) which has Bradley Cooper attached.
Reader Comments (9)
The Hollywood Reporter recently confirmed the Daniels directing an episode of a Star Wars series and alluded to TAR being Todd Field's last films. The articles in question...
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/star-wars-the-daniels-direct-skeleton-crew-1235356983/
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/todd-field-tar-likely-final-film-director-1235357846/
Sadly, Todd Field was supposed to direct a miniseries version of "Devil in the White City" but dropped out last year.
I always wonder.. what do directors like him do in the 16 long years between projects? How is he earning a living? Apparently he does do a little commercial work..
I read Spielberg's up for scaring us with a horror movie,let's hope so,he hasn't done one in years.
Todd Field already suggested that TAR may be his last film. I hope not!
Given the astonishing contribution to Spielberg's legacy, I am surprised that the famed director turned over the reins to the John Williams documentary to his go-to guy for making the behind the scenes short documentaries of his films. With Spielberg producing, Laurent Bouzereau is in production now directing the much anticipated documentary examining the career of the Oscar winning composer.
Had Spielberg chosen to direct the film himself, I think we all would be predicting another Oscar, this time for documentary feature, to add to his career total.
I knew Berger from the superfun/absurd German tv drama Deutschland 83/86/89, which stars the wonderful Maria Schrader (incredible performance), director of She Said.
And I am so happy that Todd Field's Blood Meridien won't happen. I think it's the best American book ever, and Field is totally wrong for it. PTA should direct it, in his There Will Be Blood mode.
Can't wait for Berger's next movie.
I'm still in awe for "All Quiet on the Western Front".
@paranoid Android-I think that in the US directors have royalties of the previous movies
I didn't know Rian Johnson was working on The Whites, but as TFE's #1 Ethan Hawke fan, I am excited about that.
Todd Field also spent years trying to adapt Jonathan Franzen's book Purity for a limited series starring Daniel Craig. Now that would have been a great project for Field. None of these Franzen projects ever seem to get off the ground (I would have loved to see Noah Baumbach's version of The Corrections as well).