- Share this article on Facebook
- Share this article on Twitter
- Share this article on Flipboard
- Share this article on Email
- Show additional share options
- Share this article on Linkedin
- Share this article on Pinit
- Share this article on Reddit
- Share this article on Tumblr
- Share this article on Whatsapp
- Share this article on Print
- Share this article on Comment
Angus Wall is David Fincher’s longtime editor, who won back-to-back Oscars for his cutting work on Fincher’s The Social Network and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. But what he really wants to do, it appears, is direct. And he’s getting his chance.
Wall is on board to direct Empire, a New Regency thriller written by Ben Ripley, the scribe behind the Summit sci-fi movie Source Code. Mark Gordon is attached to produce the action thriller via his banner, The Mark Gordon Co.
PHOTOS: 26 of Summer’s Most Anticipated Movies
The logline for Empire is being kept under wraps, but it is described as being in the style of Safe House and The Usual Suspects.
Drew Simon and Michele Wolkoff will oversee for the Mark Gordon Co.
To segue from editing to directing isn’t that common. Cinematographers do much more seat-hopping, as do screenwriters. But Wall has a couple of giants he can look to as examples.
Hal Ashby was Norman Jewison’s go-to editor on the Canadian director’s late-1960s period, with In the Heat of the Night (for which Ashby won an Oscar) and The Thomas Crown Affair, among the titles. Ashby made his directorial debut with 1970’s The Landlord before going on to helm ’70s classics Harold and Maude, Shampoo and Being There.
PHOTOS: ’80s Action Stars: Where Are They Now?
Walter Murch was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on Julia and Apocalypse Now (he won for best sound on the latter), and although he’s worked consistently as an editor for the past 25 years, he made his directorial debut on 1985’s Return to Oz.
Wall, who also worked on Fincher’s Panic Room, Zodiac and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, is repped by CAA and the Gotham Group.
Related Stories
Related Stories
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day