Pierce Brosnan to star as veteran card player in `The Big Biazarro`

19-Jan-2007 • Actor News

Pierce Brosnan has teamed with Maloof Motion Pictures to turn Leonard Wise novel "The Big Biazarro" into a starring vehicle for himself - reports Variety.

Pic will be scripted and directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall.

Brosnan and Irish DreamTime partner Beau St. Clair will produce along with MMP's Phil Maloof and Andrew Jameson. MMP is financing development.

Drama is set in the high-stakes world of international gambling, and Brosnan will play an elusive veteran card player who mentors a headstrong but talented protege.

Curtis-Hall recently helmed episodes of "Sleeper Cell" and "The Shield."

Pic will be the second for MMP, which was hatched by the Maloof family, owners of the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and the NBA's Sacramento Kings. After debuting with the Project Greenlight-generated genre film "Feast," they are ready to put more chips on the table to finance and produce films. Jameson, who runs MMP for the Maloof clan, was introduced to the project by St. Clair when their offices were in the same Santa Monica building.

"We want to get more active, and this project is a perfect fit," said Jameson. "Our plan is to be instrumental in the development of a project and, once we get a script and a star, involve a distribution partner."

Brosnan's Irish DreamTime was productive while he toplined the 007 films, producing such pics as "The Matador," and "Butterfly on a Wheel," an upcoming dark thriller in which Brosnan stars with Maria Bello and Gerard Butler.

Brosnan said the goal is to become more prolific. Irish DreamTime is currently developing a sequel to "The Thomas Crown Affair," among other projects.

"When you have a role like Bond, it becomes your life, and the time always went quickly between films," he said. "We managed to make six films over the last 10 years, but with Bond no longer in my life, it allows me more time and choices, and the chance to be adventuresome. I've been in all our projects so far, and I'd like to try just being the producer on some of these projects."