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Hanks, Berry, McAvoy, & McKellen Lined Up for 'Cloud Atlas'

by Alex Billington
June 16, 2010
Source: The Playlist

Early last year, we talked with director Tom Tykwer who revealed in our interview that he was working on an adaptation of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas that the Wackowskis were producing. Since then we haven't heard much about it and Tykwer has gone on to direct an indie called Three. But now The Playlist says that in the latest Production Weekly there's a new listing for Cloud Atlas that says it's moving forward with quite a cast: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, James McAvoy, Ian McKellen and Natalie Portman. None of this has been confirmed yet, but it could be possible that these five are in, however only offers are out to them.

Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, published in 2004, is a novel comprised of six separate but loosely related narratives that weave together history, science, suspense, humor and pathos. Tykwer hasn't yet revealed which of the six he will be focusing on, which is the next big question to be answered, because the book spans a variety of genres: "from Melvillean high-seas drama to California noir and dystopian fantasy." The project is "moving towards a production start next spring" and offers have apparently gone out to those actors. That would be an absolutely incredible cast, so I hope it all comes together. We'll let you know when/if they are confirmed!

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Related categories: Casting, Movie News, Rumors

Ben

McAvoy, McKellen and Portman acting alongside 2 has-beens. Should be interesting.
http://movies.iconocritic.com peloquin

Wait...did you just call Tom Hanks a has-been? He's one of the top 5 highest paid actors in Hollywood making about 20 million per film not to mention he has 2 Oscars and the biggest film of the summer coming out in 3 days. If anything, he's at the peak of his career right now and can choose any project he wants to make. Plus, if he doesn't like any of the projects being shopped around he can create his own work at Playtone from a script he found on the floor of an Apple Bees. Not many has-beens have that kind of power. ...Halle Berry is definitely a has-been though, poor management putting her in Catwoman though so not entirely her fault.
benjoi

cant wait for this. david mitchell is awesome... his new novel (thousand autumns of jacob de zoet) is also quite cinematic, hope it eventually gets made too.
ttch

They have offers out to Dennis Hopper and Farrah Fawcett , too! And they hope to have a special guest appearance by John Wayne! Really, how can this be a story until at least one of the actors has confirmed? I am an SF fan and read "Cloud Atlas" last year, and I expected a good read after it had won and been nominated for so many awards. I agree that it cannot be filmed: The protagonists are too passive in the face of cruelty, injustice, and disaster. Even the bad guys are one-dimensional. Perhaps the novel's gimmick of historically-linked stories, where each story is at some times seen as fiction and at other times fact, can be highlighted to make it all a sort of "trip". But Tykwer will have performed a minor miracle if he manages to convert any substantial part of the novel into a work that moves people. But what do I know? "Avatar" moved millions without a single true moment in it.