By Rafa Martín
May 16, 2019
Stefano Sollima, the director of “Sicario: El día del
soldado y Gomorra”, has recovered a project originally conceived by the maestro
Sergio Leone and now rescued by his heirs. It is a western, and it is called
“Colt”.
The history of Colt began in 1987, when Leone contacted his
collaborators Sergio Donati and Fulvio Morsella with an idea that he intended
to sneak onto television. ‘Colt’ was a tribute to the Anthony Mann classic,
“Winchester 73”, starring a revolver, the thread of several stories starring
the respective gunmen who put their hands on the weapon. Leone conceived it as
a much more revisionist work than previous films of the genre. It was originally
conceived as a TV series and takes its cue from the six-shooter packed by Clint
Eastwood in “A Fistful of Dollars,” which becomes a narrative device as it is passes
from owner to owner throughout the Old West.
Donati even went so far as to write a treatment that has
appeared from time to time over the past years. The operation to rescue the
story is not new, hence the term "recovered". In fact, there is news
as recent as a couple of years ago: Sollima and Leone's heirs had the idea of
maintaining the miniseries format, in at least six episodes. It never came to
fruition.
Now after a few tweaks. The first, which ceases to be a
miniseries is to become a feature film. The second, that instead of gunmen,
Sollima has put children as protagonists of the film. "A story of rite of
maturity," explains the director, "for three children between 12 and
13 years old who end up with the gun in their hands and who, for various
reasons, end up becoming criminals." Sollima is in advanced talks for a
top U.S. writer to come on board. “I want to take the [Spaghetti] Western genre
back home” to Italy, added Sollima, whose late father, Sergio, was the
Spaghetti Western pioneer who directed Lee Van Cleef-starrer “The Big Gundown.”
Stefano Sollima, the Italian director known in Hollywood
for “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” and TV series “Gomorrah,” is set to shoot
“Colt,” an English-language Western based on a Sergio Leone concept. The plan
is to start shooting next winter.
“Colt” is being produced by Leone’s children Raffaella
and Andrea, via their Leone Film Group. They are shopping the project in Cannes
to prospective U.S. partners.
Originally conceived as a TV series, “Colt” takes its cue
from the six-shooter packed by Clint Eastwood in “A Fistful of Dollars,” which
becomes a narrative device as it is passes from owner to owner throughout the
Old West.
Sollima, who is in advanced talks for a top U.S. writer
to come on board, has tweaked Leone’s concept so that the gun changes hands
between kids.
“It’s a coming-of-age story of three kids, aged 12 or 13,
who as orphans come into possession of this weapon, and for a whole series of
reasons become criminals,” he said, adding: “I can assure you that a
12-year-old with a Colt in his hand is pretty striking.
“I want to take the [Spaghetti] Western genre back home”
to Italy, added Sollima, whose late father, Sergio, was the Spaghetti Western
pioneer who directed Lee Van Cleef-starrer “The Big Gundown.”
As in the Westerns of Italy’s glory days, Sollima and the
Leones are seeking A-list U.S. talent for the several adult characters,
including a lead protagonist and antagonist, besides the three young teens, who
will be unknowns. “We are very cautious
when it comes to anything that has to do with my father,” Raffaella Leone
added. “Our enthusiasm means we are fully convinced.” Raffaella said the idea
to make the shift from a TV series to a movie stemmed from Sollima’s vision of
the project. “There are almost too many TV series these days,” she said, noting
that the goal is to make “Colt” a high-profile event movie that will be fresh
“in terms of narrative, pace and approach.” Leone is producing via the group’s
Lotus Production shingle with Italy’s RAI Cinema on board. They plan is to
start shooting this winter in Canada, since the setting is mountainous, unlike
Leone’s desert-set Westerns.
Sollima specified that “Colt” would target a young
audience. “I once told my kids, who are in their early teens, ‘I’d like to do a
Western,’ and they said: ‘What is a Western?'” he said. “Their generation
doesn’t know Westerns. They haven’t seen them at the movies. I thought it would
be interesting to draw them into this genre with a story that speaks to them.”
Biltmore: I hope this gets made. Andrea Leone has spent the last ten years trying to get this made...
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