There’s probably a feeling of letdown for a director who creates a controversial film and then has to move on to a new, less controversial project. Just ask Gabriel Range, whose last picture was so controversial you probably didn’t even see it. Range was the director behind the fake-documentary, Death of a President, which didn’t show in many theaters due to its content – a fake assassination of President George W. Bush. Sadly, more people were offended by the idea of the fake assassination than the political message and exploration Range was attempting with his picture.
It’s unlikely Range’s next picture will draw as much controversy. Variety announced his next project as being a fictional tale based in reality this time. It’s the story of a young man who shows up at a home and tells the couple residing there that he is their son who disappeared years ago. Range told the newspaper, "Of all the stories I covered while making documentaries, this was the most extraordinary story I've ever come across, with the most extraordinary central character, whom I'd spent hours interviewing in a federal detention center." Paramount will produce the as yet untitled film with Lorenzo di Bonaventura.
The story certainly sounds less controversial than his last picture. It’s almost a shame he didn’t do this story first, gain some acclaim, and then release the less-accepted movie. It’s easier to ignore a less known director with a story like that. If a Spielberg or Shyamalan had done that sort of movie it would have been a lot harder to bury the film like Death of a President was.
