Before getting back behind the camera for Live By Night after his Oscar-winning work on Argo, it looks like Ben Affleck will be stepping in front of it once more, with the multi-hyphenate in talks to take the lead for David Fincher’s Gone Girl.
Deadline report that the plan is for filming on Gone Girl to take place this autumn/fall, which would still allow Affleck enough time to finish Live By Night for release towards the end of 2014.
Affleck reportedly reached out to execs at Warner Bros. over the Fourth of July holiday, to push back Live By Night in order to work on Fox and New Regency’s Gone Girl. And having had such great success working together on Argo and The Town, it’s understandable that the studio would be agreeable, with word that they made a concerted effort to give him a quick answer to let him take on the project set up at another studio.
The film is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn, with Flynn penning the first draft of the screenplay, and currently rewriting it alongside Fincher.
Courtesy of Amazon, here’s the synopsis for the original novel:
Marriage can be a real killer.
One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. The Chicago Tribune proclaimed that her work “draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.” Gone Girl’s toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn.
On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy’s diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?
As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?
As of yet, there’s no word on who will be taking the female lead. Fox acquired the novel in a seven-figure deal last summer for Pacific Standard’s Reese Witherspoon and Bruna Papandrea, but it looks like Witherspoon is on board in a producing role only. So with any luck, we’ll be hearing more casting news for this soon.
Affleck will next be seen this September in Brad Furman’s Runner Runner, alongside Justin Timberlake, Gemma Arterton, and Anthony Mackie.
Last seen on the big screen with 2011’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Fincher has since gone on to helm the first two episodes of Netflix’s acclaimed House of Cards. He’s been working with Fox on Gone Girl since January, and it’s very nice to see that his return to cinema is progressing nicely, and I’d love for that return to be with Affleck in front of the camera.
