Coen Brothers are keeping busy …

While No Country for Old Men is still boiling hot, with chances looking good at piling up some Oscars and already bringing home numerous other awards and acclaims, the brothers Coen aren’t slowing down. Instead, they’re  more interested in doing what they love …  and doing it they do well.

The Coen brother’s next film, Burn After Reading,  has a killer cast including Brad Pitt,  George Clooney, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton and  Francis McDormand. The film is listed as being in the post-production phase and is due out in theatres in September of 2008. The story is about a couple of ethically challenged gym employees who stumble upon the memoirs of a CIA agent, then in a epiphany of criminal brilliance decide to try and sell them. As always, if it’s a Coen brothers film, its bound to be excellent.

The Coen brothers  were also  in the process of developing another comedy, which takes place in the 1920’s.  The movie  was titled Hail Caesar and is about a troupe of theatre actors staging a production of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. The production was rumored to be casting Tim Blake Nelson and Johnny Kastl. The Coen brothers has since put this project on hold, in favor of another. That other project is A Serious Man, a dark comedy of which the plot has been kept very hush-hush.

Their newest  project has just been announced as The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, based on the Michael Chabon novel. The story takes place in America, but in an alternate dimension where Jews have resettled in Alaska circa 1948, after the collapse of Israel. The story involves a detective attempting to solve a murder. For me, it doesn’t really get much better that a Coen brothers film. I always know that I’m in for a treat.

More and more, they seem to be working at the pace of Woody Allen, cranking out a film of quality about every year or so. With their continued success, their career also seems to be sharing another characteristic with Woody Allen, that being they can draw just about any actor/actress they desire. There are few filmmakers, in my opinion, who make such great films so consistently. The brothers Coen already have a golden resume, but I’m even more excited about what films are yet to come. tdk001