The following is a list of unproduced Steven Soderbergh projects in roughly chronological order. During his long career, American filmmaker Steven Soderbergh has worked on several projects which never progressed beyond the pre-production stage under his direction. Some of these projects fell into development hell, were officially canceled, were in development limbo or would see life under a different production team. [1] [2]
In the 1980s, Soderbergh was one of many directors attached to direct Lem Dobbs's screenplay Edward Ford, a drama about an obsessive-compulsive disorder patient trying to become a Hollywood actor, for 20th Century Fox. [3]
After the success of Sex, Lies, and Videotape , Soderbergh had planned on adapting the post-apocalyptic novel The Last Ship by William Brinkley as his next film. It was set to be produced by Sydney Pollack. [1] After several unsatisfactory screenplay drafts however, Soderbergh would ultimately choose to abandon the project in favor of making Kafka . [4]
In 1997, Soderbergh was attached to direct The Crowded Room, based on Daniel Keyes' non-fiction novel The Minds of Billy Milligan , after the rights were optioned by Warner Bros. He wanted to cast Sean Penn in his version. [6]
On June 23, 2003, Soderbergh was set to co-write with Scott Kramer the screenplay for David Gordon Green's adaptation of the novel A Confederacy of Dunces . [8]
On October 23, 2008, it was announced that Soderbergh was planning to direct a 3D live action rock and roll musical titled Cleo, with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Hugh Jackman portraying Cleopatra and Marc Antony respectively; Gregory Jacobs and Casey Silver signed on to produce the film. The music for the projected $30 million production was written by the indie rock band Guided by Voices, with screenplay by James Greer, a former bass player for the group. [9] In December that year, Ray Winstone was in talks to portray Julius Caesar. [10] On January 2, 2009, Jackman dropped out of the project. [11] On September 4, 2009, Soderbergh weighed the possibility of making Cleo or a proposed Liberace biopic, which became Behind the Candelabra , before retiring. [12] On June 16, 2012, Zeta-Jones admitted on The View that she and Soderbergh would try to make it as a Broadway stage show. [13]
In 2008, while filming The Informant! , Soderbergh and Scott Z. Burns were writing a script for a biopic about Leni Riefenstahl, but ultimately chose to make Contagion after weighing the commercial prospects between the projects. [14] [15]
On July 12, 2009, Jules Asner revealed on Adam Carolla's podcast that Soderbergh wanted to make a sequel to The Limey , [16] and Soderbergh revealed the following September that he and Lem Dobbs were writing the screenplay with a focus on new characters while collaborating on Haywire . [17]
On March 4, 2010, Soderbergh was set to produce the biographical crime film Making Jack Falcone with Peter Buchman writing the screenplay and Benicio Del Toro set to portray FBI agent Jack Garcia for Paramount Pictures. [18]
On November 16, 2010, Soderbergh was set to direct the film adaptation of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. with Scott Z. Burns writing the screenplay and John Davis and David Dobkin producing. [19] In 2011, George Clooney was set to star, but left the due to a back injury. [20] On October 20, 2011, Bradley Cooper was set to replace Clooney, [21] but in November that year, Soderbergh dropped out as director and Guy Ritchie was hired to replace him. [22] [23]
In February 2018, Soderbergh was set to produce and possibly direct Scott Z. Burns and James Greer's original action thriller Planet Kill, with Studio 8 set to produce. [24]
In April 2018, Soderbergh was in the process of developing a six-part miniseries written by Lem Dobbs about the life of 19th-century adventurer Emin Pasha. [25]
In 2019, Soderbergh was set to produce Florida Man, an Elmore Leonard-style TV series with BenDavid Grabinski attached as the showrunner after replacing Michael Waldron. [26] On June 4, 2021, the project evolved into a buddy cop movie, then retitled Gator and the Egg, with Gabinski writing the screenplay, Stacey Sher, Michael Shamberg, John Henson and Soderbergh producing, and Tricia Brock set to direct through Amazon Studios. [27]
On May 19, 2020, Soderbergh was possibly going to direct and produce a sequel to High Flying Bird that Andre Holland was working on for Netflix. [28] On September 24, 2020, Soderbergh confirmed that the sequel's screenplay was written. [29]
On September 24, 2020, Soderbergh was set to only executive produce a spinoff of The Knick starring Andre Holland, with Jack Amiel and Michael Begler writing the series and Barry Jenkins attached to direct and produce. [29]
On December 30, 2020, Soderbergh announced that a "philosophical sequel" to his film Contagion was in the works. [30]
In 1989, Soderbergh was offered the chance to direct David Koepp's screenplay Death Becomes Her around the release of Sex, Lies, and Videotape for Universal Pictures, but he recommended Robert Zemeckis to direct it instead. [31]
On May 9, 2013, Soderbergh was considered to direct the feature film adaptation of E. L. James' novel Fifty Shades of Grey , as well as the sequels, for Universal Pictures, long before Sam Taylor-Johnson was hired to direct the film adaptation. [32]
In 2019, Soderbergh was offered via a text message from Elliott Gould the chance to direct the sequel to The Long Goodbye . [33]
Steven Andrew Soderbergh is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh later drew acclaim for formally inventive films made within the studio system.
Sex, Lies, and Videotape is a 1989 American independent drama film written and directed by Steven Soderbergh. The plot tells the story of a troubled man who videotapes women discussing their sexuality and fantasies, and its impact on the relationships of a troubled married couple and the wife's younger sister.
The Limey is a 1999 American crime film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Lem Dobbs. The film features Terence Stamp, Lesley Ann Warren, Luis Guzmán, Barry Newman, Nicky Katt, and Peter Fonda. The plot concerns an English career criminal (Stamp) who travels to the United States to investigate the recent suspicious death of his daughter. It was filmed on location in Los Angeles and Big Sur.
Constantine Alexander Payne is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. He is noted for his satirical depictions of contemporary American society. Payne has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award and two Golden Globe Awards as well as a nomination for a Grammy Award.
David Koepp is an American screenwriter and director. He is the ninth most successful screenwriter of all time in terms of U.S. box office receipts with a total gross of over $2.3 billion. Koepp has achieved both critical and commercial success in a wide variety of genres: thriller, science fiction, comedy, action, drama, crime, superhero, horror, adventure, and fantasy.
James Gray is an American film director and screenwriter. Since his feature debut Little Odessa in 1994, he has made seven other features including We Own the Night (2007), Two Lovers (2008), The Immigrant (2013), The Lost City of Z (2016), Ad Astra (2019), and Armageddon Time (2022). Five of his films have competed for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
Kafka is a 1991 mystery thriller film directed by Steven Soderbergh, from a screenplay by Lem Dobbs. Ostensibly a biopic based on the life of Franz Kafka, the film blurs the lines between fact and Kafka's fiction, creating a Kafkaesque atmosphere. It stars Jeremy Irons in the title role, with Theresa Russell, Ian Holm, Jeroen Krabbé, Joel Grey, Armin Mueller-Stahl, and Alec Guinness. Simon McBurney appears in his film debut.
Shawn Adam Levy is a Canadian filmmaker and actor. He is the founder of 21 Laps Entertainment. His work has spanned numerous genres, and his films as a director have grossed a collective $3.5 billion worldwide.
Lem Dobbs is a British-American screenwriter, best known for the films Dark City (1998) and The Limey (1999). He was born in Oxford, England, and is the son of the painter R. B. Kitaj. The pen name "Dobbs" was taken from the character played by Humphrey Bogart in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948).
Contagion is a 2011 American medical disaster thriller film directed by Steven Soderbergh. Its ensemble cast includes Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Elliott Gould, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet, Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Ehle, Sanaa Lathan, and Gwyneth Paltrow. The plot concerns the spread of a highly contagious virus transmitted through respiratory droplets and fomites, attempts by medical researchers and public health officials to identify and contain the disease, the loss of social order as the virus turns into a worldwide pandemic, and the introduction of a vaccine to halt its spread. To follow several interacting plot lines, the film makes use of the multi-narrative "hyperlink cinema" style, popularized in several of Soderbergh's films. The film was inspired by real-life outbreaks such as the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak and the 2009 flu pandemic.
Behind the Candelabra is a 2013 American biographical comedy drama television film directed by Steven Soderbergh from a screenplay by Richard LaGravenese, based on the 1988 book of the same name by Scott Thorson and Alex Thorleifson. It dramatizes the last ten years in the life of pianist Liberace and the relationship that he had with Thorson.
Side Effects is a 2013 American crime thriller film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Scott Z. Burns. It stars Rooney Mara as a woman who is prescribed experimental drugs by psychiatrists after her husband is released from prison.
Gregory Jacobs is an American film director, assistant director, producer, and screenwriter. He has frequently collaborated with several film directors, most notably Steven Soderbergh, as well as directing himself, having overseen projects such as Criminal (2004), Wind Chill (2007) and Magic Mike XXL (2015).
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