Hollywood’s familiar faces move behind the camera
Ewan McGregor, Brie Larson, Bradley Cooper and others all making directorial debuts
Some of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces are stepping behind the camera.
So far this year, actors including Natalie Portman ( A Tale of Love and Darkness), Meg Ryan ( Ithaca) and Nate Parker ( The Birth of a Nation) have made their directorial debuts.
The latest is Ewan McGregor, who has received lukewarm early reviews for his first directing effort, American Pastoral. The brooding adaptation of Philip Roth’s sprawling 1997 novel follows a seemingly perfect couple (McGregor and Jennifer Connelly) in 1960s New Jersey whose life is upended when their teenage daughter (Dakota Fanning) violently protests the Vietnam War.
Five more stints in the director’s chair that make our must-see list: Bradley Cooper The Oscar nominee’s long-gestating remake of A Star is Born was finally greenlit by Warner Bros. in August, with Lady Gaga set to star. Cooper will co-star in the classic showbiz drama, which follows a Hollywood A-lister who helps an aspiring actress rise to fame as his career spirals. A Star is Born, which goes into production early next year, is the first major movie role for Gaga, who won best actress in a limited series at the Golden Globes for her turn as a bloodthirsty hotel owner in FX’s American Horror Story. Paul Dano The Swiss Army Man actor is teaming with his longtime girlfriend, actress Zoe Kazan ( Ruby Sparks), for an adaptation of Richard Ford’s 1990 novel Wildlife, which they co-wrote. The coming-of-age drama, expected next year, will star Dano’s Prisoners co-star Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan as parents whose marriage falls apart after they move to Montana with their teenage son (Ed Oxenbould). Kirsten Dunst Fresh off an Emmy-nominated turn as an unhinged housewife in FX’s Fargo, Dunst is heading behind the camera for an adaptation of Sylvia Plath’s 1963 semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar. The film goes into production early next year and stars Dakota Fanning as Esther Greenwood, who battles mental illness while interning with a magazine in New York. Brie Larson Larson just might be the busiest actress in Hollywood. The Oscar winner ( Room) will star in three movies next year ( Kong: Skull Island, Basmati Blues and The Glass Castle) before she suits up to play superhero Captain Marvel in 2019.
She’ll also direct, produce and star in Unicorn Store, which is expected next year. The comedy follows a young woman named Kit who moves back in with her parents and is invited to a magical store that gives her a new perspective on growing up. Jordan Peele The Emmy-winning co-creator of Comedy Central’s Key & Peele is swapping out humour for horror in his directorial debut Get Out (in theatres Feb. 24). The thriller stars Sicario’s Daniel Kaluuya and Girls’ Allison Williams as an interracial couple who visit her parents (Catherine Keener and Bradley Whitford) in a predominantly white neighbourhood, where several black people have gone missing. The trailer was applauded on Twitter when it was released this month, not only for tackling racism but also for looking genuinely scary.