Don McKellar To Star In Blindness

(Toronto) Rhombus Media recently revealed it plans to shoot Blindness, a US$25-million co-pro, next year in Toronto and Sao Paulo, Brazil. The screenplay comes from the book by reclusive Nobel Prize-winner José Saramago, and will be helmed by director Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener). The company will make Blindness with Potboiler Productions of the U.K., Bee Line Pictures of Japan and Brazil's O2 Filmes.

This makes for a very heady brew of a co-pro, as it will be a Canadian-UK-Japan-Brazil co-ordinated effort. Surprisingly, the film is set to star the writer of the adaptation, Don McKellar. The film comes on the heels of McKellar’s disastrous turn as writer/director/star of the feature Childstar. As had been the case with all previous films staring Canada's ubiquitous fragile actor, Childstar was a $7-million financial and critical misfire and sunk from sight nearly immediately upon release, grossing $50,000 in Canadian theatres, and finding no release in other countries. Previous films starring Don McKellar include Rub and Tug, Art of Woo, The Event, and When Night Is Falling. Television guest spots include RoboCop: The Series.