Peter Bogdanovich Directing Sex-Addict Drama John Ledger

Peter Bogdanovich at Turner Classic Movies event
(Image credit: Turner Classic Movies)

Legendary filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich stays busy with acting projects, but hasn’t directed a picture since 2001’s The Cat’s Meow, a true-crime murder mystery pluck from Hollywood's shady past. So news that he’s returning to the director’s chair is exciting enough, and that’s before we fill you in on the project’s details.

Bogdanovich – a two-time Oscar nominee with such credits as Paper Moon and The Last Picture Show to his credit – is teaming with volatile leading man tom Sizemore for a sex-addiction drama titled John Ledger, Variety reports. Sizemore would play the title character, a car salesman in Southern California who’s also a sex addict. As the plot unfolds, the indie movie documents how Ledger’s obsessions drastically affect his friends and family, including his wife and teenage son. Joey Camen wrote the John Ledger screenplay, which is being financed by Polimedia Films for Bogdanovich to direct.

According to the trade, Camen is currently working with his director to fine tune the shooting script. At the same time, producers are still seeking financing for the project, so shooting isn’t exactly imminent.

Bogdanovich and Sizemore aren’t strangers. As Variety notes, the two collaborated on Hustle in 2004 – a television movie that cast the Saving Private Ryan co-star as besmirched baseball icon Pete Rose. Still, the idea of Sizemore headlining a Bogdanovich movie probably sounds way more appealing if this is 1995. Also, we’ll be interested to see what Camen has to say about sex addiction that wasn’t said – with conviction – by Steve McQueen and Michael Fassbender in Shame. We’re assuming John Ledger will come at the issue from a completely different angle. Stay tuned, and we’ll see what develops.

Sean O'Connell
Managing Editor

Sean O’Connell is a journalist and CinemaBlend’s Managing Editor. Having been with the site since 2011, Sean interviewed myriad directors, actors and producers, and created ReelBlend, which he proudly cohosts with Jake Hamilton and Kevin McCarthy. And he's the author of RELEASE THE SNYDER CUT, the Spider-Man history book WITH GREAT POWER, and an upcoming book about Bruce Willis.