At this stage, most people are pretty familiar with Michael Cimino. He rose to fame with the critically acclaimed, Oscar winning film The Deer Hunter. After the film’s release, Cimino was an ultra hot property in Hollywood and so he chose to make Heaven’s Gate.
Ultimately, the film crushed his career. Due to going way over budget as well as frequent delays, the movie tanked. United Artists went bankrupt and Cimino’s hubris spelt the end of his once promising future.
As it stands, Heaven’s Gate and its troubled production is now the stuff of legend. It’s a punchline in Hollywood and a prime example of what happens when directors indulge in excess. The whole situation is very interesting actually and you can read more about the film and its production over at its Wikipedia page.
But I digress. Since Heaven’s Gate, Cimino has done a couple films but all were forgettable and crummy, the director never really got his career back on track. Speaking with the New York Times though, Cimino has revealed that he has a new film project in the works and he plans to shoot it in digital.
No other details are known as of yet but it’s still exciting as the director has been rather quiet as of late, at least in terms of work. While it’s unlikely that this project will completely change the public opinion of Michael Cimino, I’m still interested to see what he has up his sleeve. Despite how much of a flop Heaven’s Gate may have been, The Deer Hunter is still an excellent film and for his work on it, Cimino deserves respect.
