Oscar-winning cinematographer Wally Pfister will be making his directorial debut pretty soon. Why should you care? He's Christopher Nolan's Oscar-winning cinematographer.
Word has been out that Pfister will make a sci-fi movie as his first feature film, and Deadline informs us it is called Transcendence and none other than Johnny Depp is negotiating for the lead role. That's negotiating — actively — not number one on the wish list.
The film will be produced by Alcon Entertainment and released through Warner Bros. Along with Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan will serve as producer, which should allow the trailers and poster to advertise that it's from the people who brought you Inception and The Dark Knight Trilogy, though the script comes from newcomer Jack Paglen.
THR chips in that Depp's payday will be huge for the film: $20 million against 15 percent of the gross. Sci-fi films don't always cash in, but the names Depp, Nolan and Pfister could mean a lot if the story is any good.
Plot details are scarce, but the movie is described as a combination of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Inception. Here's what THR has:
The story centers on man who creates a computer that develops a malevolent awareness. Depp will play a husband who gets sucked into the computer, contingent on changed Pfister is making to the script, sources say.
I'm not sure about that "sucked into the computer" part but enough of these talented minds saw something they really like in this project, so there's plenty we don't know. Without question, this is a project to watch.
No release date is set for Transcendence, but Pfister is eying an early 2013 shoot.
