James Cromwell, of “Succession” and “Babe” fame, will produce and star in a forthcoming film adaptation of the Eugene O’Neill play “The Hairy Ape.”
Janek Ambros of Assembly Line Entertainment will write and direct the project, “Brute’s Revenge,” and co-produce alongside Emmy winner Cromwell. The story follows an illiterate ocean liner worker named Yank who is branded a “filthy animal” by a powerful industrialist’s son. Yank seeks revenge against this elite family and tries to find his place in society. Its source material was written in 1922, and was restaged off Broadway in 2017 at the Park Avenue Armory with Bobby Cannavale.
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The new take from Ambros and Cromwell is more cinematic, and incorporates additional characters that aid in Yank’s soul searching “through a society that has no room for the working class,” filmmakers said. Cromwell will play the powerful industrialist Harold D.K. Douglass, Yank’s target.
“Eugene O’Neill’s play is both tragic and funny and is as timely as ever. I’m excited to work with Jamie once again on a movie that dissects class dynamics, political radicalism and white knight syndrome,” said Ambros.
The pair have previously worked together on “Imminent Threat,” a documentary about the War on Terror’s impact on civil liberties, and “Mondo Hollywoodland”, a psychedelic farse and homage to the 1967 cult classic “Mondo Hollywood.”
The film will also be produced by cinematographer and producer Brandan Haskell, who said he was “thrilled to be involved in this project because Janek has offered such a unique, poignant and quirky perspective on Eugene’s play. With its classic revenge plot, the film will have its audience questioning their morality in a world of unrelenting capitalism.”
Ambros’ most recent producer effort was “In the Summers,” winner of this year’s grand jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival. His most recent as a director was “Ukrainians In Exile,” a doc about the Ukraine refugee crisis filmed on the border of Poland and Ukraine in the early days of the war. The film, which was released by The Nation, was executive produced by Oscar winner Janusz Kaminski and Liev Schreiber.
