Everybody loves Michael Fassbender. It’s not hard to see why; the guy’s incredibly charming, good-looking, and most importantly, talented. The actor has added yet another potential future project to his ever growing pile, as Variety reports that Fassbender is in early talks to star in The Mountain Between Us. Gerardo Naranjo (Miss Bala) is set to direct the adaptation of Charles Martin’s romantic drama novel. The story centers on “two strangers who survive a plan crash in the Colorado woods and are forced to rely on one another for survival, eventually falling in love.” Should Fassbender sign on, he would play the male half of the stranded pair, a doctor and avid climber. He must use his skills from both his profession and hobby (convenient!) to help an injured writer to safety. It’s like The Grey, but I’m assuming much, much less bleak. Hit the jump for more, including a synopsis of the novel.
Fassbender has shown incredible range thus far, and I’m convinced he can knock any role—big or small—out of the park. Naranjo’s Mexican thriller Miss Bala was highly acclaimed, and I’m interested to see whom they’ll set opposite Fassbender. Though the premise could easily be turned into a cheese-filled romantic piece, the inclusion of Naranjo and Fassbender promises something deeper and more interesting.
The actor is next set to star in Ridley Scott’s The Counselor, from a script by celebrated author Cormac McCarthy. He’s also set to reteam with Shame director Steve McQueen for Twelve Years a Slave, and is being eyed for the period Yakuza film The Outsider. He’ll next bee seen in Scott’s Prometheus. In short, Fassbender’s doing quite well for himself. Here’s the synopsis for The Mountain Between Us:
From the author of Where the River Ends, comes this page-turning story of love and survival.
On a stormy winter night, two strangers wait for a flight at the Salt Lake City airport. Ashley Knox is an attractive, successful writer, who is flying East for her much anticipated wedding. Dr. Ben Payne has just wrapped up a medical conference and is also eager to get back East for a slate of surgeries he has scheduled for the following day. When the last outgoing flight is cancelled due to a broken de-icer and a forthcoming storm, Ben finds a charter plane that can take him around the storm and drop him in Denver to catch a connection. And when the pilot says the single engine prop plane can fit one more, if barely, Ben offers the seat to Ashley knowing that she needs to get back just as urgently. And then the unthinkable happens. The pilot has a heart attack mid-flight and the plane crashes into the High Uintas Wilderness– one of the largest stretches of harsh and remote land in the United States.
Ben, who has broken ribs and Ashley, who suffers a terrible leg fracture, along with the pilot’s dog, are faced with an incredibly harrowing battle to survive. Fortunately, Ben is a medical professional and avid climber (and in a lucky break, has his gear from a climb earlier in the week). With little hope for rescue, he must nurse Ashley back to health and figure out how they are going to get off the mountain, where the temperature hovers in the teens. Meanwhile, Ashley soon realizes that the very private Ben has some serious emotional wounds to heal as well. He explains to Ashley that he is separated from his beloved wife, but in a long standing tradition, he faithfully records messages for her on his voice recorder reflecting on their love affair. As Ashley eavesdrops on Ben’s tender words to his estranged wife she comes to fear that when it comes to her own love story, she’s just settling. And what’s more: she begins to realize that the man she is really attracted to, the man she may love, is Ben.
As the days on the mountains become weeks, their survival become increasingly perilous. How will they make it out of the wilderness and if they do, how will this experience change them forever?
Both a tender and page-turning read, The Mountain Between Us will reaffirm your belief in the power of love to sustain us. [Amazon]
Also from Variety, comes the casting news of Chow in the indie thriller, Run. The picture stars William Moseley (The Chronicles of Narnia) as a Parkour expert who must decided between continuing a life as a street-smart thief or settling down with his girlfriend (Chow). The film, written and directed by Simone Bartesaghi (Downstream) also stars Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight) and Adrian Pasdar (Heroes). Chow will next be seen in this summer’s The Amazing Spider-Man. Co-starring in The Amazing Spider-Man will be C. Thomas Howell, who has recently landed a role in the indie crime drama, Magic Hour. Per Variety, the picture follows a young man’s associations with the local crime family of Venice Beach in the 1990s. Production will wrap at the end of the month after shoots in Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Anaheim.