Director Josh Trank’s latest movie, Capone (previously known as Fonzo), has finally arrived. The feature starring Tom Hardy as a mentally deteriorating Al Capone arrives five years after the release of Trank’s last movie, Fantastic Four, which was a difficult filmmaking experience for him. While Trank had more creative freedom when it came to putting Capone together, he’s admitted that there was a period where he was anxious about the movie, specifically during the editing phase.
Josh Trank recently stopped by the ReelBlend podcast to talk about Capone, including the following anecdote about the studio inquiring about bringing another editor on board. As Trank recounted:
I was asked by the studio if it was okay if they brought on another editor. Somebody that I would trust or somebody that I had respect for that could lend a fresh set of eyes. To see if there’s possibly a more commercial version of this film. And my initial reaction for about maybe 5 minutes was just utter anxiety. Because it brought up all these old memories. But then I very quickly reminded myself that this isn’t the same situation that I once found myself in. This is a group of people who have only shown me love and support for at that point three and a half years, had been so wonderful and gracious through the process. If anything, I felt even though deep down in my heart, I knew as an editor that there’s really no way edit his movie to make it more commercial in any way.
Josh Trank added that one of the ways he knew that it would be difficult to make Capone look more commercial is the fact that there are scenes of Tom Hardy’s Al Capone soiled himself in diapers, as by this point in his life, the notorious gangster’s mind is rotting from syphilis. So yeah, an element like that is definitely something that’s not going to draw in the average moviegoer.
Given his time on Fantastic Four, where his take on Marvel’s First Family’s origin story was altered by others involved with the production, it’s understandable that Josh Trank would have been worried for a bit that having another editor work on Capone could be problematic. However, as Trank noted, he had a better experience working on Capone and had built a trustworthy relationship with the producers and other behind-the-scenes players.
That, combined with his confidence in being able to realize his original vision for Capone, made Josh Trank comfortable with working alongside another editor, and evidently the movie ultimately came together to his liking. You can listen to ReelBlend’s full interview with Trank below.
In addition to Tom Hardy, Capone stars Linda Cardellini, Kyle MacLachlan, Jack Lowden, Matt Dillon, Noel Fisher, Kathrine Narducci and Neal Brennan, among others. This is Josh Trank’s third directorial effort, as before Fantastic Four, he made his filmmaking debut with Chronicle. Trank was also once attached to a Star Wars movie reportedly centered on bounty hunter Boba Fett, but he ended up leaving that project, contrary to the reports he’d been fired.
Capone is now available on VOD, and be sure to read CinemaBlend’s review of the movie. As for what’s set to his the big screen later this year, head to our 2020 release schedule for that information.
