Jerry Stahl To Write 'The Thin Man' For Johnny Depp; Will Retain Period Setting

by Kevin Jagernauth
March 22, 2011 8:04 AM
5 Comments

Rob Marshall Still Attached To Direct

When news first cropped up around a remake of "The Thin Man" with Johnny Depp attached to star, we figured it was one of many projects that would be linked with the actor that would eventually fall to the wayside. Guess we were wrong. Following the first rumblings last fall, there is fresh movement on the project.

THR reports that Jerry Stahl ("Bad Boys II") has been tapped to pen the screenplay for the film, beating out Terry Rossio (”Pirates of the Caribbean”) and Christopher McQuarrie (”The Tourist”) for the job. Based on the classic book by Dashiell Hammett, the story follows Nick Charles, who marries into money, becomes a charming alcoholic and teams up with his socialite wife Nora to solve a murder. The film is set up over at Warner Bros. who want to retain the period setting but give it a modern feel (we're guessing they want to follow a "Sherlock Holmes" sort of template here).

Stahl is best known for penning the heroin memoir "Permanent Midnight" (which became a movie starring Ben Stiller), so he'll have a unique take on Charles' vice for drink. Rob Marshall, who was first linked to the director's chair, is in negotiations and it will continue his collaboration with Depp following 'On Stranger Tides.'

No word yet on when this plans to go in front of cameras. As it stands, Depp is getting ready to shoot "Dark Shadows" with Tim Burton and presumably will follow with Kathryn Bigelow's "Sleeping Dogs"/"Triple Frontier" in the fall but word on that project has grown a bit quiet of late. But, Depp as a crime solving dandy? Yeah, we'd give it a shot.

More: Films, Actors, Rob Marshall, The Thin Man, Jerry Stahl

5 Comments

| Reply
ndm | March 22, 2011 11:27 AMReply

@Shark
No deonair? Have you every Johnny Depp movie. If you have, you would have seen "Finding Neverland." You can't get more debonair than that.
PETE | March 22, 2011 9:19 AMReply

I will never understand why the writer of the seminal classic "Bad Boys II" think he needs to slum it with material so far below his considerable talents.
Shark | March 22, 2011 9:13 AMReply

nooooooo. DO NOT WANT. I mean, I suppose Depp could be a good fit for the role, if he tones down the weird and taps into a kind of boozy debonair charm we've never really seen from him before. Well, the boozy part we've seen, but not really the debonair part. And the casting of Nora is absolutely critical. I hope that Depp's status will allow them to go for someone who actually has chemistry with Depp, as that's more important than anything else.
Jacques DeMolay | March 22, 2011 8:59 AMReply

Sounds like it's firmly in Depp's wheelhouse, but with a solid chance of transcending his output as of late. I'm a bit skeptical of Rob Marshall, but there are certainly worse directors out there. Meh, time will tell...
Teresa | March 22, 2011 8:58 AMReply

The writing in the original movies was so sharp and clever. I'm worried that's going to be traded for Apatow-like gags or dialogue by committee.