"To Die For" actor Joaquin Phoenix and director Gus Van Sant reteam for the long-in-development biopic on the famed quadriplegic cartoonist John Callahan. They are eyeing a reunion on the new film "Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot."
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Phoenix is attached to star in an adaptation of Callahan's memoir "Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot." It seems that Van Sant's long-brewing biopic of Callahan is coming back to life. Van Sant, Callahan's fellow Portlander, was attached to direct in the early 2000s before it fell by the wayside.
"Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot" is based on Callahan's autobiography of the same name, Variety reported. Callahan became an alcoholic at the age of 12 and a drug abuser in his mid-teens. He became a quadriplegic in a car accident at age 21 after a day of drinking.
Callahan turned to drawing as a form of therapy. He managed to rebuild his life to become an envelope-pushing cartoonist, learning to use both hands to draw, for example, and also reconciling with members of his family.
Callahan's work was published in the New Yorker, Penthouse, and Playboy before his death in 2010. For decades, his work raised eyebrows for its taboo topics leading to numerous boycotts in his hometown of Portland.
Iconoclast Films and Anonymous Content are producing "Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot." Charles-Marie Anthonioz, Mourad Belkeddar, and Nicolas Lhermitte will produce for Iconoclast and Steve Golin for Anonymous Content.
Hollywood had been trying to adapt the "Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot" book since its publication in 1989, with the late Robin Williams circling the role of Callahan for several years set up at Columbia. The comedian Williams was a fan and producer as well, providing the introduction to Callahan's book "Will the Real John Callahan Please Stand Up?"
If the project comes together smoothly, "Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot" will mark Van Sant and Phoenix's first reteaming since the actor's breakout in 1995's black comedy "To Die For." The pair has come close to collaborating again over the years, most recently with Van Sant's "Sea of Trees," which eventually starred Matthew McConaughey.
Phoenix will also play Jesus in the Weinstein Co.'s "Mary Magdalene." Phoenix and Van Sant are represented by WME.
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