If you can’t get Leonardo DiCaprio to star in your movie, you might as well try Christian Bale. The American Hustle actor is reportedly interested in taking the lead part in a film version of John D. MacDonald’s The Deep Blue Good-by.
According to Variety, Bale is in very early talks to play Travis McGee, the character introduced in the 1964 novel. The Deep Blue Good-by was the first of 21 novels with the character, a “salvage consultant” who finds trouble and women while trying to recover property.
Variety reports that 20th Century Fox, which is producing the film in collaboration with Chernin Entertainment and DiCaprio’s Appian Way, has not made Bale an offer. However, the site expects one to be made very soon.
This is the first news on the project since DiCaprio decided in March that he wouldn’t be able to play Travis McGee.
The story was adapted by Mystic River novelist Dennis Lehane and Scott Frank worked on a recent draft. James Mangold (The Wolverine) is directing.
Bale was last seen in American Hustle, which earned him a surprising Oscar nomination. His next film is Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings, which opens on Dec. 21. Coincidentally, that film is also a Fox/Chernin production.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com