Of Searchlight and Swank – Explainer

Nikki Finke wonders aloud about why Fox Searchlight has taken the plunge again on a Hilary Swank project, which re-teams director Tony Goldwyn and screenwriter Pamela Grey (who last worked together on the Diane Lane female fantasy pic, a Walk on the Moon; she also wrote Music of the Heart) with a rewrite by Richard LaGravenese.

Maybe the answer is that¬†co-presidents¬†Nancy Utley and Jim Gilula are gluttons for punishment. Because I don’t understand why¬†Fox Searchlight¬†is staying in the Hilary Swank biz, especially after last year’s¬†Amelia was such a total loser at the box office.

Only $14.2M –¬†despite an expensive marketing campaign that included a cheezy coffee table book about the movie.¬†Yet they’ve just bought North American and some international rights for¬†Tony Goldwyn’s Swank-starring¬†Betty Anne Waters whose¬†storyline is¬†about a sister who proves her imprisoned brother’s innocence. Go figure.

Well, here’s the thing. Swank + period piece usually equals disaster. Swank + accent usually equals disaster. Swank as a scrappy fighter, though, is pure gold:

The film is based on the true story of a unemployed single mother (Swank) who puts herself through law school at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island in order to represent her brother (played by Sam Rockwell) who has been wrongfully convicted for murder. She eventually challenged the conviction with DNA evidence, resulting in her brother being freed.

I might go so far as to say that there is only a certain kind of part Hilary Swank CAN play and do well at it. Her Oscar-winning performances were so hard core, in a way, that they make it almost impossible to see her as Amelia, for instance, or a detective, or a romantic comedy lead. Try as she might to diversify, the people only want her in one type of role. Betty Anne Waters looks like it might be another of those.

Sidenote: can they pour any more syrup on this thing?