Emmanuel Lubezki is finalizing his return to movies as the cinematographer of David O. Russell’s next directorial project, Deadline confirms. Russell’s film is untitled but is set up at New Regency and has already tapped Christian Bale, Michael B. Jordan, and Margot Robbie to star. Plot details are remaining under wraps. The movie will reunite Russell with Bale after “The Fighter” and “American Hustle,” the former of which won Bale the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The project will mark the first collaborations between Russell and Robbie, Jordan, and Lubezki.
Lubezki has remained largely out of the spotlight since an unprecedented run between 2013 and 2015 in which he won three Oscars for Best Cinematography thanks to his work on “Gravity,” “Birdman,” and “The Revenant.” The DP’s last feature film was Terrence Malick’s “Song to Song” in 2017, one of several collaborations with the auteur that also include “The New World,” “The Tree of Life,” “To the Wonder,” and “Knight of Cups.” In addition to “Gravity,” Lubezki has also shot “Sólo con Tu Pareja,” “A Little Princess,” “Great Expectations,” “Y Tu Mamá También,” and “Children of Men” for Alfonso Cuarón. Lubezki is often cited as one of the best cinematographers in film history.
Production on Russell’s new movie is set to begin this spring. The filmmaker has not released a feature film since “Joy” in 2015. Russell had an acclaimed run with “The Fighter,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “American Hustle,” and “Joy,” all movies that picked up numerous Academy Award nominations. Rumor has it that Russell’s muse Jennifer Lawrence was courted for his new project after leading his last three pictures but scheduling conflicts led Russell to Robbie.
Lubezki’s most recent high-profile gig was filming Alejandro González Iñárritu’s virtual reality project “Carne y Arena.” That project and Iñárritu’s “The Revenant” were also New Regency productions. Lubezki’s other credits include Tim Burton’s “Sleepy Hollow,” Joel and Ethan Coen’s “Burn After Reading,” and Michael Mann’s “Ali.” Russell’s most recent films were shot by Linus Sandgren (“Joy” and “American Hustle”), Masanobu Takayanagi (“Silver Linings Playbook”), and Hoyte van Hoytema (“The Fighter”). There’s currently no release date set for Russell’s upcoming new project.
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