Sean McGinly's feature directing debut The Great Buck Howard was about a man a bit past his prime in his chosen profession (magic) but still doggedly pursuing his trade. For his next act, McGinly will be telling a similar story, just with a bit of grand larceny thrown in. According to Variety he'll be adapting and directing The Old Man and the Gun, based on the New Yorker article about a bank robber who kept his career going until he was nearly 80.
An archived version of the article is available here, and it starts with a captivating description of Forrest Tucker's last bank robbery, for which he dressed in all white and after which he thanked the tellers for handing over more than $5,000. Tucker said of his life story, "I've been in prison all my life, except for the times I've broken out," and walks around with shrapnel still buried in his arms. If there's a guy more worthy of a biopic I'm not sure who it is-- and if there's a role more perfect for McGinly's Great Buck Howard star John Malkovich, I'd actually be kind of afraid to hear it.
Buck Howard was a charming if flawed movie, but it showed promise for McGinly as a director with a big heart and a skill for observing human oddities. The Old Man and the Gun sounds like a great next step, and seriously, someone make sure to get Malkovich on the phone about this.
