Zwick to direct "The Blood Diamond"

Discuss former or new projects of The Bedford Falls Company (production company of "My So-Called Life"), Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick (executive producers) in this forum.
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Zwick to direct "The Blood Diamond"

Post by Sascha » Mar 4th 2005, 5:51 am

He's quite busy these days...
By Borys Kit

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "The Last Samurai" director Ed Zwick has signed on to shoot the adventure drama "Diamond."

Formerly known as "Okavango," the Warner Bros. project recounts the story of a poor African farmer who gets caught up in a conflict between an American diamond smugglers and the syndicate that controls the local diamond-mining industry, all in the path of one very valuable diamond.

Zwick's other directing credits include "Courage Under Fire," "The Siege" and "Legends of the Fall."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Last edited by Sascha on Jun 29th 2005, 4:22 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by Sascha » Jun 29th 2005, 4:20 am

An update on this project: Leonardo DiCaprio is now attached to it according to Variety.
Diamonds may be Leonardo DiCaprio's.

Thesp is in negotiations to make Warner Bros. dramatic thriller "The Blood Diamond" his next picture. Project was originally developed by Warners-based producer Paula Weinstein, who brought aboard Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz to rewrite it.

Along the way, Zwick became so interested in the African adventure, he agreed to direct as well.

"The Blood Diamond" is set in Sierra Leone circa 1999, a time when the nation was in the midst of a horrific civil war. DiCaprio would play the role of a smuggler who specializes in the sale of "blood diamonds," also known as "conflict diamonds" -- the precious stones used to finance rebellions, privateers and terrorists.

When the smuggler encounters an indigenous Mende farmer whose young son has disappeared into the RUF's army of child soldiers, the two men's fates become linked. Warners is hoping to shoot "Diamond" early next year, so that DiCaprio can turn to another Warners project, "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (Daily Variety, May 26).

DiCaprio is currently lensing Warners' mob thriller "The Departed" for helmer Martin Scorsese.

Zwick most recently helmed "The Last Samurai" for Warner, a pic he co-wrote and produced with Herskovitz via their Bedford Falls shingle.

Weinstein most recently produced the New Line comedy "Monster-in-Law" via her Spring Creek banner.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117925274

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Post by Sascha » Feb 24th 2006, 7:18 am

Production has begun.
Edward Zwick Directs "Blood Diamond" for Warner Bros Pictures
Filming has begun on the dramatic movie "The Blood Diamond" starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou. Edward Zwick ("The Last Samurai") is directing the film from a script by Charles Leavitt ("The Mighty") and Zwick & Marshall Herskovitz.

"Blood Diamond" will be filmed on location in Port Edward, South Africa, as well as Maputo, Mozambique and Cape Town, South Africa.

Zwick, Paula Weinstein, Marshall Herskovitz, Gillian Gorfil and Graham King are producing "Blood Diamond." The executive producers are Len Amato and Benjamin Waisbren. Eduardo Serra is the director of photography with Dan Weil onboard as production designer. Zwick's "The Last Samurai" editor Steven Rosenblum reunites with the director for "Blood Diamond."

"Blood Diamond" - The Official Synopsis

Set against the backdrop of civil war and chaos in 1990s Sierra Leone, "Blood Diamond" is the story of Danny Archer (DiCaprio), a South African mercenary, and Solomon Vandy (Hounsou), a Mende fisherman. Both men are African, but their histories as different as any can be, until their fates become joined in a common quest to recover a rare pink diamond that can transform their lives.

While in prison for smuggling, Archer learns that Solomon - who was taken from his family and forced to work in the diamond fields - has found and hidden the extraordinary rough stone. With the help of Maddy Bowen (Connelly), an American journalist whose idealism is tempered by a deepening connection with Archer, the two men embark on a trek through rebel territory, a journey that could save Solomon's family and give Archer the second chance he thought he would never have.

Source: Warner Bros Pictures
http://movies.about.com/od/dicaprioleon ... 022306.htm

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"Blood Diamond" Starts Production

Post by EWU MSCL fan » Feb 25th 2006, 4:47 pm

Sounds like an interesting back story for a movie. Could be worth checking out at the movies besides the fact that Jennifer Connolly is in it.

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