Exclusive: it does seem like Julian Schnabel’s bio pic of the legendary artist Van Gogh is going ahead with casting.
Willem Dafoe — getting raves right now in “The Florida Project” — was already announced as Vincent. By the movie the movie is not called “Lend me an Ear” or even “Starry Starry Night.” It’s “At Eternity’s Gate.”
But now I’m hearing that Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron to you) is joining the cast as either Theo Van Gogh, Vincent’s brother and art dealer, or artist Paul Gaugin. He’s definitely in, say sources.
Also in is Rupert Friend, recently killed off of “Homeland.” He would be Van Gogh’s physician at the end of his life, Dr. Gachet.
Vincent and Theo — immortalized on film in a movie of that name by Robert Altman– each died in 1890. Vincent was 37, Theo was 33. So I’m not sure how Dafoe, though a great actor, will do at 62. But it sure sounds interesting. Maybe Dafoe should play Gaugin, who died at 53. But hey, no one asked me.
It’s time for Schnabel, a great artist himself, to get back behind the camera. “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” “Before Night Falls,” and “Basquiat” are wonderful films that everyone should see.
