Robert Zemeckis, best known for his directorial work on the Back To The Future trilogy and Forrest Gump, looks set to re-enter the world of live-action directing. The rumour mills have been turning after the less than favourable box office results of previous animated features including Mars Needs Moms which Zemeckis produced.
Zemeckis’ so far unconfirmed return will see him start back out with a bang on drama thriller Flight. The script written by John Gatins will see the two collaborate once again after their work on Real Steel in which Gatins wrote the screenplay and Zemeckis produced.
The story introduces a drink and drug addicted pilot who manages to step up to the task of saving his passengers after an airborne malfunction. Though seen as a hero because of his courageous and dare devil crash-landing the sinister truth is that the whole scary affair is due to the addictions that plague him.
Denzel Washington is tentatively attached to the feature and the plagued man in search of redemption won’t be much of a stretch from his usual cinematographic outings.
Although Zemeckis’ last live-action feature exists as Cast Away in 2000 it seems like a return to live-action directing is more than warranted with titles like this and other modern classics he’s directed. Even with motion-capture movies he’s directed like Polar Express, Beowulf and A Chirstmas Carol doing ok critically and publically it’s clear that his talents are squandered in this cinematic realm. With Disney having dropped his next project, the remake of Yellow Submarine, we can only hope that he’ll take up the live-action mantle and take-off from the box office lows of Mars Needs Moms with Flight.
