Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Ben Affleck dropped out of Focus, a comedy about an aging con artist and a young sexy apprentice, played by Kristen Stewart. Click here for a refresher. The writing team (they also wrote Crazy, Stupid, Love) originally hoped that Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling -- given how well they worked in that movie -- would take the leads. So we need some romantic chemistry to happen here...
Focus is scheduled to start shooting in April and Warner Bros is now looking for Affleck’s replacement. Their initial selections of Gosling and Affleck make sense seeing as both actors have strong relationships with the studio and they get preferred treatment on any projects of their interest. As does Tom Hardy. And Leonardo DiCaprio. They’re Warners men too.
That was my train of thought, especially after seeing the new trailer for Gatsby -- click here if you missed it. For years Leo has avoided any films about love, having already starred in what many consider to be the ultimate love story. He was uncomfortable with his pin-up status, sort of. Professionally Leo was, smartly, averse to being typecast and publicly swooned over. Privately though, please, you don’t think he used it well to his advantage, especially at fashion shows? Come on now.
Still...
It’s been long enough. As Dean wrote in his Eulogy to Leo’s Sexiness, collectively his film choices over the last decade, while prestigious and all, aren’t exactly... FUN. What’s missing from Leo’s career is FUN.
And Focus sounds like it could be fun. He’s the right age for it, being a contemporary of Affleck’s, and he could certainly play a con artist, probably better than Ben, and of course there’s the prospect of what his involvement would mean for Gossip. Oh, that would be SO Good for Gossip.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kristen Stewart?
Stop.
It’s almost unfair.
Someone at Warners needs to be reading this and sending him the script.
