Coming Soon: “The Jesuit”

No, I’m not making this up.  Coming to a theater near you is “The Jesuit,” starring Paz Vega (pictured here).

Variety sez: 

Paz Vega is set to star in Paul Schrader’s ensemble drama “The Jesuit,” while Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaac and Michelle Rodriguez are in final talks. Film Bridge Intl. is introducing the project to foreign buyers at Cannes for Open Window Prods.  Storyline revolves around a man nicknamed “the Jesuit,” who is imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. When his wife is murdered and his son kidnapped and taken to Mexico, he devises an elaborate and dangerous plan to rescue his son and avenge the murder. Schrader most recently helmed the political thriller “Walker,” toplining Woody Harrelson and Kristin Scott Thomas. The Gersh Agency packaged “The Jesuit” and will oversee financing.

In related news, Oliver Stone is currently helming “The Franciscan.” Storyline revolves around a man (Matthew McConaughey) who is imprisoned for a crime he did in fact commit.  When his wife Elizabeth (Mo’Nique) enters the Sisters of Life, and his son (Shia LaBeouf) joins the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and is taken to Italy, he devises an elaborate and dangerous plan to rescue his wife, now Sister Elizabeth, and his son, now Father Chrysologus, and avenge their entrance into a conservative religious order.  Call to Action packaged “The Franciscan” and will oversee financing.

Also on board is “The Trappist,” directed by Tim Burton about a man (Seth Rogan) who is not imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit.  When his wife (Betty White) joins Voice of the Faithful, and his son (Abe Vigoda) joins a Catholic Worker community and is taken to the Lower East Side of New York, he devises an elaborate and dangerous plan to rescue his wife and son from the clutches of liberal Catholicism and take them to a Latin Mass in Washington, D.C.  The Society of St. Pius X packaged “The Trappist” and will oversee financing.

James Martin, SJ