Irish actor Michael Fassbender is reportedly in talks to star alongside Natalie Portman (Black Swan) in the low-budget western ‘Jane Got a Gun’.
According to online reports, the ‘Shame’ actor is extremely close to signing on the dotted line to the Lynne Ramsay-attached feature, something Portman and her production company Handsomecharlie Films have already done.
Handsomecharlie Films, which Portman runs with actress and producer Annette Savitch, is reportedly financing the film, which is being developed on a budget of $20 million. The company is partnered with Greek company 1821, which financed ‘The Invention of Lying’ and ‘The Box’.
Ramsay previously directed the intense drama ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’, on which Armagh-born cinematographer Seamus McGarvey worked on.
‘Jane Got a Gun’ is written by Brian Duffield, and made it onto last year’s Hollywood Black List for the Best Unproduced Screenplays. The story sees Portman reach out to her ex-boyfriend (reportedly Fassbender’s role) after she and her outlaw husband are left to die following a brutal attack on their farm.
Fassbender’s reps could not comment on any future productions the Kerry-native may or may not have in the pipeline, but did confirm that he has wrapped filming on Steve McQueen’s ‘Twelve Years a Slave’ and is currently filming ‘The Counseler’ with ‘Prometheus’ director Ridley Scott.
Production on ‘The Counseler’ recently ceased for a week due to the unexpected death of Scott’s brother, ‘Top Gun’ director Tony Scott.
IFTA-winning Fassbender, who was also nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in “Shame’, will be seen next in ‘Twelve Years a Slave’, which also features Irish actress Ruth Negga (Love/Hate), Brad Pitt, and Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock). It is due for release in 2013.
