Coming off the two-time Academy Award-winning “All Quiet on the Western Front,” German-born Austrian and Swiss director Edward Berger has gotten a lot of traction for many of his follow-up projects. The first one moving forward, however, is the Netflix film “The Ballad Of A Small Player,” which just received another infusion of talent. Already starring Oscar-nominated actor Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”), Deadline reports that Tilda Swinton, coming off David Fincher’s “The Killer,” is also joining the cast.
“The Ballad Of A Small Player” centers on a high-stakes gambler who chooses to live a quiet life in Macau once his debts and history catch up with him. He meets a kindred soul along the road who may hold the secret to his deliverance.
The drama is being written by Rowan Joffe, with Mike Goodridge producing through his Good Chaos banner alongside Berger for his Nine Hours banner. Matthew James Wilkinson of Stigma Films will also produce.
Not much else is known about the project, but that should change relatively soon, including more potential casting, seeing as how the film is scheduled to start filming in Asia sometime this summer. ‘This ‘Ballad’ isn’t the only project that Swinton has in the works, as she’s been in production on Pedro Almodovar’s “The Room Next Door” and should appear soon in “The End,” which will reportedly be released later this year.
As for Farrell, the actor will appear next in the highly anticipated “The Penguin” series, which serves as a spin-off of Matt Reeves’ critically acclaimed superhero drama “The Batman,” and will arrive on the phone on MAX. He is also currently filming “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey,” which also stars Margot Robbie.