Robert Pattinson Idol’s Eye May Still Happen

According to NOW Toronto, who recently spoke to Olivier Assayas:

In 2014, he was ready to shoot the Chicago-set 70s crime drama Idol’s Eye – starring another Twilight vet, Robert Pattinson – in Toronto when an American financier pulled out the day before production was to begin.

Given that experience, it’s no surprise he is sticking close to home for his next movie: it’s a French film “with lots of dialogue” starring Guillaume Canet and Juliette Binoche that shoots this fall, but afterwards he hopes to revive Idol’s Eye, with Sylvester Stallone and Rachel Weisz starring along with Pattinson.

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A few years ago you were about to shoot the American-financed Idol’s Eye in Toronto, but the financing fell through. What’s the status of that film?

The situation on that film has been ongoing for a while. In a nutshell, it’s a screenplay I wrote based on true-crime stories set in Chicago in the late 70s. The film was financed and we were ready to shoot, but the day before shooting we lost our American financing. Which was, like, a nightmare. It never happens. You can lose your financing, but usually you lose it a month or two before shooting – not the day before.

At this point, we have solved the more complex issues so now it’s doable again, but it certainly won’t be my next film. And it’s not a done deal, but it has potential to happen.

Why did you want to shoot it in Toronto?

Sadly, it’s very basic. Chicago is much more expensive. Also, I’d already filmed in Toronto on Clean so I have friends and crew members. I’m familiar with the ambience in Toronto – it’s very much a movie town. We found all the locations we needed between Toronto and Hamilton that could look like late 70s Chicago.

The film will star Sylvester Stallone, as well as Robert Pattinson and Rachel Weisz. What do you like about Stallone?

I’m a huge fan – what can I say? I thought Rocky was pretty great, and so were the sequels. I like him as a director. I remember seeing Paradise Alley – his first film – in the late 70s, and he’s a very original individual in filmmaking. He has something that’s very powerful. For this movie we needed a very powerful figure to embody Tony Accardo, a famous Mafia boss. I thought Stallone was perfect. I really like the guy and enjoyed our meetings.