James Mangold Will Produce and Direct Biopic on Legendary Actor Buster Keaton

Academy Award-nominated director and producer James Mangold is set to helm a film based on the life of legendary actor, filmmaker, and comedian Buster Keaton. Mangold will both produce and direct the untitled project for 20th Century Studios. The film has just been announced, and therefore, no other cast or crew members are confirmed to be a part of the project. The film will be based on the book called “Buster Keaton: Cut To Chase” by Marion Meade. The film has not roped in any screenwriter to adapt the book.

Who was Buster Keaton?

Buster Keaton was an actor and filmmaker who gave some outstanding cinematic pieces during the silent era. His work on comedies like The General and The Cameraman is to date held in high regard and has been lauded forever since by film critics and historians. Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Roger Ebert also noted his extraordinary works, especially in the silent genre. Keaton was further known for his comedic style, wherein he heavily relied on his physical movements and body language along with expressions. Known for his artistic independence, Keaton often experimented with parodies during his filmmaking and acting career. He was known to self-direct the movies he starred in.

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He, however, faced a decline in his career when he signed a deal with MGM for sound films and lost independence on his projects. His projects under the studio’s interference led to a troubled professional and hampered personal life. Later, he found success as a comic performer, which he continued to pursue for the rest of his life. Keaton was also honored by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences with an Honorary Oscar in 1959.

The film will directly draw inspiration from the book and will be an official adaptation of the same. And if that’s something the writers adhere to, it shall cover both successful and troubled experiences of the cinema genius. The official synopsis of the book reads:

“Buster Keaton (1895–1966) was a brilliant comedian and filmmaker who conceived, wrote, directed, acted, and even edited most of his ten feature films and nineteen short comedies, which are perhaps the finest silent pictures ever made. With a face of stone and a mind that engineered breathtakingly intricate moments of slapstick, Keaton has become an icon of American cinema. Marion Meade’s definitive biography explores his often brutal childhood acting experiences, the making of his masterpieces, his shame at his own lack of education, his life-threatening alcoholism, and his turbulent marriages. Based on four years of research and more than 200 interviews with notables such as Billy Wilder, Leni Riefenstahl, Gene Kelly, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Irene Mayer Selznik, as well as members of Keaton’s family who had previously refused to discuss him, Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase is a startling and moving account of the troubled life of a cinematic genius.”

James Mangold had previously worked with 20th Century Studios on multiple projects, from when it was a division of Fox. Most recently, Mangold helmed Ford v. Ferrari (2019), which earned him a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars that year. He is also known for directing and writing the critically acclaimed superhero film Logan (2017), which was set within the now-defunct X-Men Film Franchise. Logan got Mangold an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, which was the first for any superhero film. Mangold is currently directing the yet-untitled fifth Indiana Jones movie, which will star Harrison Ford reprising his iconic role. It’s likely that Mangold and 20th Century Studios will fast-track the project once the work on Indiana Jones 5 is done.

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