You may not necessarily be familiar with him by name, but you’ll surely be familiar with some of Andrew Niccol’s written and directed work: Gattaca, The Truman Show, Lord of War, S1m0ne, and The Terminal (he co-wrote the story for that one).
Niccol has a couple of projects already on his slate for the upcoming years (including an adaptation of Twilight writer Stephenie Meyer’s novel, The Host) but now we learn he’s adding a new very ambitious project to his list.
Heat Vision reports on Niccol’s latest project, I’m.mortal, which is being eyed by Strike Entertainment, the production company handling The Thing prequel. I’m.mortal (I wonder if that strangely punctuated title will be kept or altered at a later date?) will be directed by Niccol from his own script.
If you’re wondering what I’m.mortal is all about you’re in luck – check out the fascinating plot outline below:
The story is set in the not-too-distant future where the aging gene has been switched off. To avoid overpopulation, time has become the currency and the way people pay for luxuries and necessities. The rich can live forever, while the rest try to negotiate for their immortality.
The protagonist is a poor young man who comes into a fortune of time, though too late to help his mother from dying. He ends up on the run from a corrupt police force known as “time keepers.”
If you’re thinking that sounds a bit like Logan’s Run, you’re not alone. The project is being described as having, “shades of a grounded Logan’s Run.” Although some of Niccol’s films did pretty well at the box office (for example, The Truman Show made over $250 million worldwide!), insiders are saying that I’m.mortal could be his most commercial film to date.
The film is part of a new sub-genre of “social sci-fi,” a genre that takes one big premise and uses it as a basis to deal with hot topics and social issues. Other examples of these include Children of Men (which Strike Entertainment also produced) and the surprise summer hit (and Best Picture nominee) District 9.
I’m.mortal may very well draw the attention of all these hot young actors populating movies these days. Since the story involves such things as parents looking the same age as their children, expect to see some familiar young and popular faces appear in various roles. Niccol is currently in meetings with “a deep pool” of candidates – I trust him not to choose actors just for their looks (at least I hope!).
My immediate thought was that this film sounds like Logun’s Run-meets-Gattaca (the former involves people being killed once they reach a certain age, while the latter involves humans being chosen to possess the best hereditary traits of their parents), with a bit of Repo Men thrown in for good measure. The idea alone has me intrigued, but add that to the fact that it’s being both written and directed by Niccol, and I’m very much looking forward to it.
What do you think of the premise for I’m.mortal? Are you a fan of Niccol’s work?
Niccol is eyeing a summer shooting start date in Los Angeles for I’m.mortal but no release date has been set as of yet.
