Filmmaker James Mangold may be busy sharpening up the Wolverine claws at the moment, but he’s got his sights set on another drama in the near future. Deadline reports that the 3:10 to Yuma and Walk the Line director will helm an adaptation of the Chris Greenhalgh book Seducing Ingrid Bergman, which revolves around a torrid love affair between Bergman and war photographer Robert Capa in post-WWII Paris. Set in 1945, the film will trace the beginnings of a turning point in the Casablanca and Notorious actress’ life, as she would subsequently strike up an affair with director Roberto Rossellini in 1950 that turned her into scandal fodder for the U.S. media.
The film—which will go by the title Blood and Champagne—was written by Arash Amel (Grace of Monaco), and Mangold will work on the screenplay alongside Amel. The filmmaker was initially set to begin shooting on an adaptation of the Travis McGee novel The Deep Blue Good-By this summer with Christian Bale in the lead, but Bale suffered an injury that has postponed that 20th Century Fox project indefinitely. Mangold subsequently shifted focus to Hugh Jackman’s final go-around with Wolverine, which will be his next film.
No word on how quickly Blood and Champagne may come together, but it could be a while if Mangold returns to The Deep Blue Good-By after Wolverine, which is slated for release in 2016. Regardless, it’s nice to see the filmmaker maintaining interest in a variety of genres, and he’s excelled at romance before with the underrated Kate & Leopold, so it's not like Blood and Champagne is wholly unfamiliar territory.
