Passion Play is an odd-sounding little film that had the good fortune of being picked up at TIFF for theatrical release shortly before the festival closed, according to THR. The synopsis is interesting in particularly weird ways- the film follows a down-and-out Jazz trumpeter named Nate (Mickey Rourke), who chances across a beautiful, bird-winged woman named Lily (Megan Fox) at a circus in the desert. As the two bond, a businessman/gangster named Happy Shannon (Bill Murray) who is after Nate becomes a threat to Lily, who is looking to Nate to save her from her current existence. You can catch a brief clip from Entertainment Weekly right here…
Mickey Rourke had some interesting things to say about the film in an interview with EW in February in which he called Megan Fox, “probably the best young actress I’ve ever worked with,” and that they had, “a lot of chemistry and respect” for each other (something that was apparently not present on The Wrestler, according to Mickey).
What sounds most fun is Billy Murray as the gangster who is after Nate. Any Murray role these days is a treat, but Murray as a mobster? That is a recipe for a good time.
While THR mentions a theatrical release, what the dates would be and what kind of scale it would roll out with are unknown.