Shane Carruth Goes Hollywood...Maybe
Wednesday, November 4, 2015 at 5:51PM 
Kieran, here. Writer-director and actor Shane Carruth (Primer, Upstream Color) has announced his latest feature. The Modern Ocean (release date still TBA), is slated to star Anne Hathaway, Keanu Reeves, Daniel Radcliffe, Jeff Goldblum, Tom Holland, Asa Butterfield and Chloë Moretz (or Chloë Grace Moretz...we'll never know. It changes with every other movie). His third feature, like his first two directorial outings, will also feature Shane Carruth as part of the cast, though one questions how big his role will be surrounded by an all-star roster.
Shane Carruth has had an interesting career. For someone whose indies have had a seemingly difficult time breaking out of the arthouse, his films often get cited in year end critical awards. Other directors have taken notice. After seeing the time-travel themed Primer, Rian Johnson consulted Carruth on the script for Looper. Quite a feat for a filmmaker who seems to take a decent amount of time between features (a nine-year gap between Primer and Upstream Color) that don't employ name actors. Will The Modern Ocean be the film that finally clicks Carruth over into mainstream acclaim? How will Carruth handle such a deep well of established actors?
The Modern Ocean is an all star piece about cargo ships searching for trade routes. That's a far cry from his earlier, micro-budget films. There are certainly indie directors who have shown that the talent doesn't dissipate once bigger budget and household names arrive. Then there are directors like Duncan Jones, who breakthrough with a heralded indie (Moon) and follow it up with a studio-funded film with big stars that has difficulty matching the early praise (Source Code). At any rate, it'll be exciting to see in which direction this star-studded new project takes him. Even if you aren't enamored of his earlier films, it's hard to deny that Carruth has a singular directorial voice. His films don't immediately recall the work of any other director working, which will always make him exciting.
How intrigued are you for Shane Carruth's new feature? Have you seen his early work?
Reader Comments (9)
Duncan Jones is certainly not the first name I would've gone to as an example of that. I thought SOURCE CODE was generally well regarded?
Anyway, I liked PRIMER and really dug UPSTREAM COLOR so I am very much in for a new Carruth. And with Anne Hathaway! She's really trying to dig deep, there.
"Primer" was a very good micro budget sci-fi movie- interesting to see what he will do with a bigger budget
Primer was very good, but I'm afraid Upstream Color went over my head.
Glenn, I quite liked Source Code as well and it was received well enough, but I did hear from a lot of people (even people who more or less liked it) that it felt like a come down/too commercial follow-up to Moon, but I see what you're saying. In retrospect, maybe David Gordon Green is a better example of how things can go badly when a heralded indie director is handed a bigger budget/more famous cast. I too am impressed that Anne Hathaway is working with such a visionary director. I love that she seems to be challenging herself and not resting on her laurels.
That Moretz girl scares me.
I openly dislike Upstream Color.
Love Primer but haven't seen Upstream Color yet.
Always excited for a great indie director assembling an all-star cast!
I'm with Raul. I really wanted to like Upstream Color, but mostly I kept asking, "what the f&@$ is going on?" Way more interested to see what Jones and Johnson do next. Moon and Brick are among my fav films of the last decade.
I love Primer and Upstream Color was probably my favorite movie of the year when it was released. (I'd love to see a feature on emotionally resonant films featuring gangbusters bathtub scenes: Upstream Color, Birth, Pleasantville.) Sign me up for anything Shane Carruth is doing.