JohnnyDepp-Zone.com

In a recent interview with Jennifer Vineyard of IFC.com, director Rob Marshall discussed his plans to film The Thin Man with Johnny Depp as urbane, witty sleuth Nick Charles. Since the original The Thin Man, which starred William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, received Oscar nominations in 1934 for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Screenplay, those are big (gum)shoes to fill. Billy Ray (The Hunger Games, Shattered Glass) is writing the screenplay, which Marshall says will be not a remake of the 1934 classic, but rather “a reimagination.” Ray is “the first writer who’s actually writing a draft,” Marshall said; although both Jerry Stahl and David Koepp had been announced as writers for the project, “we hadn’t really started with either of them, with Jerry or David. Neither had written a word. Billy is the first writer who’s actually writing a draft.”

The “reimagination” of The Thin Man will keep its “incredible [. . .] iconic characters” intact, Marshall assures us, as well as its original setting. “We’ll be setting it in the ’30s, because it is of that world. It’s an era that we have a great affinity for. So we’re going to be able to inhabit a world that we really, truly love … .”

The key role of Nora Charles has yet to be cast, but whoever plays Nora needs to have “humor and an effortlessness,” as well as “elegance. That’s not something that’s easy to find!” Marshall said. And of course, Nora will need to have great chemistry with Nick. “It’s about this relationship. The core of all these wonderful thrillers is always that great relationship with each other. That’s what drew us to it, and what drew Johnny to it.”

Marshall plans to shoot The Thin Man next year, with a targeted 2013 release. We can’t wait!

The Zone thanks Emma for sharing the Rob Marshall interview; you can read more about his plans for The Thin Man on the Zone’s News & Views forum.