A scene from the 1966 film adaptation of 'Fahrenheit 451'

Writer/director Frank Darabont (The Mist / Law Abiding Citizen / The Green Mile) has confirmed he’s currently in negotiations with a prominent actor to take the lead role in a new film adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.

“Fahrenheit is the thing I’m trying to get up next, which is casting-dependent,” Darabont said. “I’m out to somebody at the moment, fingers crossed, because, boy, do I want to make that movie.”

Darabont has wanted to adapt Fahrenheit 451 for amost fifteen years in which time the names Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt have been, at some point, rumored to be in the running to play the lead character Guy Montag.  The Oscar winning writer admits that although Fahrenheit 451 won’t require a mega budget it nonetheless requires a sizeable budget which in turn requires an actor that potential investors can be confident in. According to Darabont the chances of a feature film adaptation now rest with whether or not the actor in question comes on board.

“Yeah, it’s not one of those movies that are vastly expensive by any contemporary standard, but money is still money and it’s of a price that requires somebody that will justify that investment,” Darabont said. “This is definitely going to be more than The Mist, so those other considerations do come into play.”

If Fahrenheit 451 is at a make or break moment with its casting, and if Darabont’s actor of choice doesn’t come on board, does that mean there’s no chance the film will see the light of day?

“I’m not giving up,” Darabont adds. “I’ll die in the traces before I don’t make that movie.”

“I promised myself that it would at least go into production while Ray Bradbury were still with us.  It’s not like I think he’s going to leave tomorrow, but he’s not getting any younger. So I have an emotional commitment to wanting to get the wheels well and truly in motion while he’s still here to enjoy that.”

Darabont’s comments were made on Wednesday at the Saturn Awards where he won an award for ‘Best DVD Special Edition’ for his release of The Mist. Given what a superb job he did with writing and directing The Mist (on a low budget and with an unbelievably quick production time), let’s hope the actor being referred to signs the dotted line.

If you haven’t seen The Mist I recommend checking it out:

Source: Sci Fi Wire

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