Albert Brooks Playing the Bad Guy in 'Drive'

I'm a shameless Albert Brooks fan. Well, I am up to a point. And that point is The Muse. After that, his stuff is pretty hard to rally behind. But Real Life, Modern Romance, Defending Your Life...even Mother works pretty well. However, since then, he's only directed two pretty bad movies and has spent a fair amount of time acting in other projects, like Weeds and Finding Nemo. Well now, he's really playing against type, signing up to portray the villain in Nicolas Winding Refn's new thriller, Drive. Deadline reports that Brooks will play a New York mob boss, but not the same kind of smarmy bad guy he was in Out of Sight. He will, apparently, be the real deal here. Drive also just added Carey Mulligan to go alongside Ryan Gosling and Bryan Cranston. Gosling plays a stunt driver who pads his income by becoming a getaway driver. He finds himself on the wrong side of the wrong people, including Albert Brooks' mob boss. The film is an adaptation of the James Sallis novel, and at one point, Hugh Jackman was in the driver's seat. Gosling brings a different vibe there. Nicolas Winding Refn replaces Neil Marshall, perhaps because there's no call for that much bloodletting. Refn is probably best known for a film most people haven't even seen, 2008's Bronson with Tom Hardy, the scene-stealer from Inception. Drive will be his first big American movie, which makes casting like Albert Brooks inspired and maybe even a little risky. Also of note: Brooks has also finished a science fiction novel, which is equally out of character, called 2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America. St. Martin's Press will release that next May. It's a serious look at how increased life expectancies cause a generational rift with young adults who no longer find themselves desirable in the job market, among other things. Studios are already interested in the project, but Brooks hasn't decided what his role in the film will be just yet.

Comments

[james d.]

Albert Brooks is such a great actor it would be reason to see this movie alone just to see his character. I cannot think of a performance of his that wasn't great. Good stuff.