Crazy Heart director Scott Cooper hasn't been much in the public eye since he directed Jeff Bridges to an Oscar in that film, but he's been busy behind-the-scenes weighing his options for a follow-up. He was mentioned in connection with a number of projects for a while there and finally settled back in November on a remake of Carancho, the Argentinean drama that was submitted in contention for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar last year. It's unclear where that project stands at the moment, but Cooper is adding another project to his plate; according to Deadline he's set to write and direct Out of the Furnace for Relativity Media.
When it was picked up over three years ago by Leonardo DiCaprio, it was called The Low Dweller, a script written by former Pennsylvania insurance salesman Brad Ingelsby and set to star DiCaprio as the main character, a man recently released from prison forced back into criminal life to settle an old score. Now DiCaprio no longer seems to be attached in the lead, though there's no indication that the new title Out of the Furnace means they're tinkering with Ingelsby's script as well.
The tone of the script is being compared to No Country For Old Men's spare, harsh vibe, a big contrast to the music-filled, somewhat sentimental Crazy Heart. It's unclear when production might star on this, but I'm anxious to see what Cooper does next, so I'm hoping they'll get the ball rolling fairly soon.
