pre-strike priorities for Focus Features, will begin lensing in Minneapolis in April." /> FilmJerk.com - News - Coen Brothers to get "Serious" in April

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Alfred Hitchcock

This is perhaps an obvious choice, however, most people tend to overlook the Master of Suspense’s early work as well as the relevancy of his last film as a key element in the continuing transition and development of the genre he defined.

One of Hitchcock's early triumphs, this predecessor to the mistaken identity man on the run scenario Hitchcock turned to time and again, stars Robert Donat as the innocent wrongly accused of murder and pursued by both the police and enemy spies. This is the first example of Hitchcock’s mastery over the suspense tale, giving us a glimpse of the greatness to come.

Considered to be one of Alfred Hitchcock's greatest works, this story of two men who meet by chance on a train and frivolously discuss swapping murders is a prime example of a common Hitchcock theme of the man who suddenly finds himself within a nightmare world over which he has no control. You can easily see how this film lays the ground work for the more popular “North by Northwest”.

Alfred Hitchcock's final film is a light-hearted thriller involving phony psychics, kidnappers and organized religion, all of which cross paths in the search for a missing heir and a fortune in jewels. Here, Hitchcock has brilliantly developed his signature form to include the now common, and often overused, device of plot twist, after plot twist, after plot twist. Widescreen!

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Coen Brothers to get "Serious" in April

By EdwardHavens

September 21st, 2007

"A Serious Man," one of the pre-strike priorities for Focus Features, will begin lensing in Minneapolis in April.

Coen Brothers to get

Little news has come out about the next next next Coen Brothers film (the next being their adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's "No Country for Old Men," in theatres this November, and their next next being their currently filming "Burn After Reading" with Brad Pitt and George Clooney) since the film was first announced back in April.

"A Serious Man" will focus on Larry Gopnik, a Jewish college professor in the Midwest during the 1960s. Larry starts to question the value of life when he discovers his wife wants a divorce (she is also probably getting it on with one of the neighbors). He also has trouble with his children stealing money out of his wallet (his son is buying weed, while his daughter is saving for plastic surgery) and his deadbeat brother, who has moved in because he neither has the cash nor the maturity to live on his own. Add to that the hostile anonymous notes he keeps receiving which threaten his tenure at school, the grad student who will get a passing grade from Larry by any means necessary (who may or may not be the person leaving the threatening letters) and the hot neighbor who bedevils Larry with her nude sunbathing, and there is little wonder why Larry seeks to solve his existential issues from men of God whom he hopes will help him to become an austere and devoted man.

It is not known who may star as Larry or the members of his family, but there are places where we could see some familiar Coen Brother collaborators. John Goodman could be a good fit for the next door neighbor Gar Brandt, although with Gar's buzzcut, he might remind people too much of the much beloved Walter Sobchak. And why not Frances McDormand for Mimi, the friend of Larry's who helps her friend to visit the wise old men.

Focus Features is expected to release the film in the early months of 2009.


"A Serious Man" Scorecard
Directors: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Producers: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Screenwriters: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Executive Producers: Robert Graf, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner
Production Start Date: April 2008
Production Location: Minneapolis, MN
U.S. Distributor: Focus Features
Expected U.S. Distribution Date: Spring 2009