John Travolta Seeks Vengeance In Thriller ‘I Am Wrath’
Vengeance never goes out of style.John Travoltahas just signed for a film calledI Am Wrath, which was once going to bea Nicolas Cage movie. Now it belongs to Travolta, and he’ll play a guy who is out for justice when cops fail to corral his wife’s killer.
The Wrapreports thatChuck Russell, director ofEraser,The Blob,The Mask, andA Nightmare on Elm Street 3, will direct. The script is byPaul Sloanbased on a story byYvan Gauthier. Seems like it’s the same script that was in play when Cage was going to make the movie with William Friedkin directing a few years ago.
The report calls this “Travolta’s ownTaken,” but in fairness that could be more a construction of the trade reporting than anything else. Vengeance films are nothing new, and even though the “getting vengeance for a dead wife” thing is super-tired, there’s always an audience ready to see an angry guy righteously dispense violence against bad dudes. AndI Am Wrathis a great title.
Here’s what we knew about the script a couple years ago:
I Am Wrathcenters around a man whose wife has just been murdered. Frustrated with the police’s inability to track down the killers, he does a little digging around on his own and soon discovers rampant corruption within his local police force. Sickened by the dishonesty, he decides to take matters into his own hands and become a vigilante to punish compromised cops.
Travolta has had a quiet few years, with his biggest movies since 2010 beingFrom Paris With LoveandSavages; the action-thrillerKilling Seasonbypassed most theaters and TIFF 2014 entryThe Forgerhasn’t had any US distribution yet. But he’s got a big role in the TV seriesAmerican Crime Story, and has a few other films in various stages of completion.
