It has been revealed by Australian newspaper The Sunday Telegraph that Russell Crowe has signed on to make his feature length directorial debut with a film about the life of comedian Bill Hicks. The film, which isn’t given a title in the article, was written by Crowe’s friend Mark Staufer and production is set to begin early next year.
Staufer spoke to The Sunday Telegraph about the film, saying:
“Bill Hick’s life is tragically short, but spectacularly interesting. The screenplay has through a number of drafts and we’ll go into production early next year”
Crowe was originally set to star in the Hicks biopic as well but has decided to stick with directing duties only. For those unfamiliar with Hicks, he was a very well known U.S. comedian who passed away at the age of 32 from pancreatic cancer.
No word on which aspects of his life the film will cover, but expect to hear more details soon, as production is set to begin early next year.
Though this will be Crowe’s first feature length directorial effort, he does has created a couple of shorts and is currently signed on to direct a short film later this year as part of an anthology titled Sydney Unplugged. It will be interesting to see how the Aussie actor’s talents translate from in front of the camera to behind it.
Are you looking forward to this project? How do you think Crowe will do as a director? Let us know in the comments.