Tommy Lee Jones is taking on
the work of Ernest Hemingway, signing on to adapt, direct,
produce and star in the writer's posthumously published novel
"Islands in the Stream."
Morgan Freeman and John Goodman also are in discussions to
board the film, which follows a 1977 version starring George C.
Scott.
"Islands" centers on the various life stages of a reclusive
male painter named Thomas Hudson before, during and after World
War II, after he moves to the Bahamas. Like many Hemingway
characters, Hudson, who in the tale has a stint working for the
U.S. Navy and also endures a series of family tragedies, leads
a complicated emotional life that he hides behind a stony
exterior.
The book was published in 1970, nine years after Hemingway
killed himself. He actually broke off a piece of the novel and
turned it into a novella that became 1952's "The Old Man and
the Sea." Jones co-wrote the script with Bill Witliff ("The
Perfect Storm"). The project will be presented to buyers at
Cannes on Sunday.
The Hemingway adaptation marks Jones' sophomore directorial
effort, after the Mexican mystery "The Three Burials of
Melquiades Estrada."
"Islands," which is set for an estimated $30 million
budget, will shoot in Puerto Rico, with production not
scheduled to start until March.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
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