Tony Gilroy's tumultuous history with the Jason Bourne franchise is, as he calls it, "well-documented." But after penning or co-scripting the first three Matt Damon-starring spy pics in the series — navigating a maelstrom of widely reported behind the scenes beefs, including Damon's snipe last year at Gilroy's Bourne Ultimatum script — the writer-director was lured back to this weekend's The Bourne Legacy by the opportunity to create a new secret agent (Jeremy Renner) to build insidious political conspiracies and impossible action sequences and existential questions around. "In a strange way," he tells Movieline, "I felt more of a personal connection with this character than I ever felt with Jason Bourne."
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Sure, he adapted the Bourne series, Stephen King’s Dolores Claiborne, 2009’s State of Play, and earned Oscar nods for writing and directing his own politically-tinged thriller, Michael Clayton – but any chat with The Bourne Legacy co-writer/director Tony Gilroy would be remiss without discussing his very first screenplay, amirite? So without further ado, take a triple lutz down memory lane with Movieline and Gilroy as he recalls the joy of seeing his first produced script come to life. That’s right, lovers of Olympian sports sagas and ‘90s-era romance: we’re taking Gilroy back to The Cutting Edge.
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There has been some push-back in the blogosphere over the apparent "genetic enhancement" associated with Aaron Cross, played by Jeremy Renner in the all-new manifestation of the Bourne series, The Bourne Legacy, which comes out next month. But director Tony Gilroy assures that the latest film is "consistent" with the three previous installments, which of course starred Matt Damon.
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There are no new ideas in Hollywood, hence a Bourne franchise reboot whose first trailer -- just released via Apple -- borrows somewhat heavily from the opening titles of Psycho. (At least they're both Universal films, right? Score one for synergy!) But that's immaterial here after a certain point, probably around the time when Stacy Keach is all WHO IS HE? or when a house blows up or simply when Jeremy Renner's Aaron Cross is revealed in all his rifle-toting, tree-hopping glory. Who can resist?
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"I don't blame Tony for taking a boatload of money and handing in what he handed in," Matt Damon told GQ recently about Gilroy's script for the third Jason Bourne film, The Bourne Ultimatum -- a script Gilroy agreed to write for "an exorbitant amount of money" as long as he only had to provide one draft and pay no regard to studio notes. "It's just that it was unreadable. This is a career-ender. I mean, I could put this thing up on eBay and it would be game over for that dude. It's terrible. It's really embarrassing. He was having a go, basically, and he took his money and left." Gilroy wrote and directed the latest Bourne film The Bourne Legacy, due in theaters this August with Jeremy Renner starring. [GQ via indieWire]
"No, I have no idea about any of it. All I know is that it doesn't preclude Paul [Greengrass] and me from doing another one of ours," original Bourne series star Matt Damon teased recently when asked if he'd show up to pass the torch to Jeremy Renner in Tony Gilroy's 2012 sequel The Bourne Legacy. Cheeky as that answer is, Damon was quick to play nice anyhow. "He's got a whole other thing that they're doing and I wish them well," he added, "and Tony [Gilroy's] really smart. I'm sure they're going to be great." So, no hard feelings. Really. [MTV]
Rachel Weisz may be filling up her dance card with a role opposite Jeremy Renner in the Bourne spin-off The Bourne Legacy, which films this September. But she's also set to play Mila Kunis's mean older sister witch in Sam Raimi's Oz: The Great and Powerful. Here's to hoping it works out with her busy slate, which has her set to open at least six other films in the next two years. (That's a whole lotta Weisz, but who's complaining?) [Deadline]
Of the handful of up-and-comers rumored to be in contention for Tony Gilroy's upcoming spy spin-off The Bourne Legacy, 30-year-old Taylor Kitsch's name was frequently bandied about as a potential front-runner for the action franchise. Speaking with Movieline over the weekend while discussing his upcoming film The Bang Bang Club, Kitsch hinted that his turn in Oliver Stone's Savages might make a Bourne outing impossible.
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