John Cusack is almost exclusively known for his versatility and effortlessly charming screen-presence, and for possessing a talent which is too rarely the instrument of deserving big-screen material. And yet, he is still seeking that role that would catapult him into the elite bracket of actors, but an aspect of Cusacks work that is rarely remarked upon has been his screenwriting. Although his most recent script, War Inc, a sprawling political satire, suffered badly both commercially and critically, his broader comedy writing- including credits for High Fidelity and Grosse Point Blank- has been his most successful. Now
Variety say Cusack is once again taking the lead on the page and screen with his latest film
Dictablanda. In spite of a commercially belligerent name- which means Soft Dictator- the film is described as a screwball comedy of manners, and will be produced in collaboration between Cusacks own company, New Crime Pictures, and Pablo Bossis Pampa Films. Cusacks co-writers are
Kevin Morris, Paul Hipp (below, who also features in a lead acting role) and
Alejandro Agresti (Sandra Bullock/Keanu Reeves rom-com The Lake House), who will take up directorial duties.
Shooting has recently begun in Argentina for the film whose- slightly nebulous- tagline is People dont die, they get killed. Meanwhile, Cusack has been particularly busy having just completed shooting on James McTeigues much anticipated thriller The Raven, in which he plays a fictionalised detective version of Edgar Allan Poe. Prior to this he starred in Mikael Halfstroms Shanghai, which has already opened in China and is still awaiting a release in the West through the Weinstein Company.