Mel Gibson’s upcoming schedule is rapidly filling up at Cannes this year, as coming hot on the heels of his casting in Fatman and Force of Nature, we now have word that he’s signed on to star alongside Shia LaBeouf in Rothchild.
According to Deadline, the dark satire is being directed by Jon S. Baird (Stan & Ollie) from John Patton Ford’s 2014 Black List script, and “charts how charismatic outcast Becket Rothchild (LaBeouf) plots his way back into his family’s riches, setting himself on a collision course with patriarch Whitelaw Rothchild (Gibson). On the way, he must infiltrate the weird and twisted lives of his super-rich kin including frat boys, hipster artists and reality TV stars.”
“Rothchild is a satirical and thrilling ride, and I am elated to be working with a filmmaker like Jon Baird, who not only has an incredible track record of guiding award-winning performances, but is crafting this film to be an action packed cautionary tale on wealth and power,” said produced Keith Kjarval (Dragged Across Concrete).
“Baird has proved to be brilliant at edgy dark comedy bringing Irvine Welsh’s Filth to life, then showed his mainstream chops with the beloved Stan And Ollie,” added Gabrielle Stewart of HanWay Films. “Here he has a chance to combine all his skills and bring to life a real twist on the classic rags to riches story. The divide between the super rich and the rest of the world is an ever growing one, and it’s both fun and fascinating to delve into its inner bowels along with our hero trying to scramble to the top and claim his piece.”
