Their first reteaming since 1994's Maverick, Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster will work together on a film called The Beaver. Working off a script taken off the top of the Blacklist (a good list to be on for screenwriters), Foster will direct. The story, written by Kyle Killen, is about about a depressed man who finds peace when wearing a beaver hand-puppet. Gibson will play the puppeteer, and Foster will double her duties for the film by playing his wife.
According to Variety, other actor/director combos had been interested in the project, including Steve Carell and Meet the Parents director Jay Roach.
Steve Golin and Keith Redmon will produce the project their Anonymous Content banner. They are pushing for a September start date in New York. At the moment, the film is estimating a budget of 18-19 million.
Okay, so this isn't one of the more interesting loglines I've read in a while, but considering the talent involved, we should all at least wait for a trailer before we call both Foster and Gibson crazy. My pregame predictions, working on that one sentence alone, have me thinking this will be a pretty dark drama, more on the demented side of puppet work more than the humorous side. Maybe Gibson will whip out some wacky voice for his hand character. Either way, I really hope he impresses us, instead of reminding us of the thoughts we had after Apocalypto was over.
At the least, I hope it gets a title change. "The Beaver"? Dam, that's a lame title.
What do you think? Are you curious about a hand puppet movie? Have any of you seen Foster's earlier two films, Home for the Holidays and Little Man Tate?
Source: Variety