Mel Gibson Now Joining International Heist Comedy 'Sleight of Hand'

Source: Variety

Last week we heard about the international heist comedy Sleight of Hand which was being shopped around the Cannes Film Festival (keep following Alex's coverage right here). The film had a strange array of talent including Kiefer Sutherland, Gerard Depardieu, Thomas Jane, Jon Lovitz and Til Schweiger, but now another big name is also joining the cast. Variety reports Mel Gibson, who attended Cannes for a non-competition screening of The Beaver (read my review here) , is in talks to join the film about a crew of small time crooks in Paris, who end up possessing a rare gold coin belonging to a notorious French gangster.

The leader of the crew calls his uncle (Depardieu), a retired criminal, to help them raise the money to repay the gangster. The series of mix-ups and double crosses culminate as the gangs are pit face to face, chasing through Paris. Gibson's role isn't clear at this point, but he joins a cast that also includes a slew of other international talents including Johnny Hallday (Man on the Train), Eric Cantona (Elizabeth) and French actors Jean Luc Couchard, Nora Arnezeder and Patrice Cols. Brad Mirman (Shadows in the Sun) will direct this film which is expected to shoot this summer through September, and this strange assembly of talent makes this a project to keep an eye on. After all, the script has to be pretty decent for Gibson to lend his talents on camera