The Mystery Screenwriter For Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Logan Lucky’ Might Not Exist
Logan Luckyis alreadygetting rave reviewsas a “high-spirited” and “brilliantly constructed” heist thriller, with first-time screenwriterRebecca Bluntgetting much of the acclaim for penningSteven Soderbergh’s return to cinema.
But rumors are swirling that Blunt may not be who she says she is. In fact, she may not exist at all.
The Hollywood Reporterfirst suggested the possibility — according to multiple sources — that Rebecca Blunt is not a real person, but in fact a pseudonym used to hide the real writer’s identity, based on the following reasons:
The lack of a press kit and a press junket despite the famous director and stars, includingChanning Tatum,Adam Driver,andDaniel Craig, are painting a shroud of mystery around the first-time screenwriter. Could this be enough to indicate that Blunt is a pseudonym?
Possibly. Pseudonyms aren’t uncommon in the movie industry, indeed they’re not even uncommon for Soderbergh, who has used the names Peter Andrews for his work as cinematographer and Mary Ann Bernard for his work as film editor, according to THR. During Hollywood’s Blacklist era, in which screenwriters and filmmakers were frequently accused by the government of having Communist ties, pseudonyms had their heyday. However, it’s become a much less common practice today, and theWGA’s websiterequires that a writer must use his/her own name in all writing credits unless he/she has already established a pseudonym.
Why the secrecy? THR has multiple theories about who Rebecca Blunt could be: Soderbergh’s wife, former model and TV personalityJules Asner; E! personality and friend of Asner,John Henson; and Soderbergh himself. In the first two cases, neither Asner or Henson are well-known in the film community or have had any experience screenwriting — and because of their careers as entertainment talking heads, may not be well-regarded to write a prestigious action flick. But THR does note that Asner has “demonstrated a creative streak,” having written the 2008 novelWhackedto fairly decent reviews.
Soderbergh could also be a possibility, though he hasn’t written a feature he’s also directed since 2002’sSolaris.
For now, we’re out of luck on discovering the true identity of Rebecca Blunt.
