By Ray Pride Pride@moviecitynews.com
[PR] Roy Scheider's got a posthumous role
Not Brett Morgen’s Chicago 10, in which the late actor is a cartoon, but an unfinished project called Iron Cross. Here’s a larger image. Comes the press release, unedited: “ACADEMY-AWARD® NOMINEE ROY SCHEIDER’S MISSING SCENE TO BE DIGITALLY COMPELTED FOR his final leading role in revenge thriller IRON CROSS. Film Written & Directed by Joshua Newton and Scheduled to Premiere at the Venice International Film Festival in September 2008
NEW YORK, NY, February 14, 2008 – Two-time Academy Award® Nominee Roy Scheider, who sadly passed on February 10th, was one key scene shy of completing principal photography for what he hoped would be his great comeback performance in the upcoming revenge thriller IRON CROSS. The pivotal scene will be finished using the latest CGI technology. The feature-length debut of British writer-director Joshua Newton, will launch at the Venice International Film Festival in 2008.
Roy Scheider, widely recognized as one of Hollywood’s most versatile actors, was nominated for an Oscar® for his extraordinary performance of Detective Buddy Russo in The French Connection, and again for his sparkling portrayal of director Bob Fossee in All That Jazz. Scheider had been featured in more than 50 films; His upcoming credits include Dark Honeymoon (co-starring Daryl Hannah and Eric Roberts) and what is his final leading performance in the Joshua Newton film IRON CROSS.
IRON CROSS tells the story of Joseph, a retired New York police officer, played by Roy Scheider, who witnessed the massacre of his family in Poland 1941. He travels to Nuremberg to visit his son Ronnie (Scott Cohen, Gilmore Girls, Cashmere Mafia) years after turning his back on him for rejecting a promising career in the NYPD and marrying a local artist, Anna (Calita Rainford, Return to House on Haunted Hill). No sooner does Joseph attempt to heal the rift with Ronnie, when he swears that living in the apartment above, under the false name of Shrager (Helmut Berger, Ludwig, The Damned, The Godfather Part III) is the now aging SS Commander who committed the atrocity. With little hope of seeing him stand trial, Joseph talks Ronnie into exacting justice – and vengeance – and together they set out to kill him.
“Roy Scheider was one of the most talented and acclaimed actors of his generation. His versatility really set him apart and made him the obvious choice o play such a complex, troubled character as Joseph. “Roy was extremely passionate about this project and we became close during filming” said Joshua Newton, writer, director and editor of the film. He really was a brave man; I admired his fighting spirit and I am honored to have known and worked with him”. The story is a very personal one for Newton, as it closely mirrors conversations and experiences with his own father Bruno Newton, who passed away last year during filming, and coincidentally like Scheider, from complications caused by myeloma. In memory of both Newton’s father and Scheider, 10% of Newton’s share of the film’s profits will be donated to the International Myeloma Foundation.
IRON CROSS is being produced by Joshua Newton and Kevin Farr. Roy Scheider was represented by ICM.
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