Death Note

Gus Van Sant Rumored to Direct Death Note Film

I'm not super familiar with Death Note, but with all of ShowYouSuck's references to the anime across a large number of his songs, I feel like I know enough to get by. The immensely popular manga/anime follows a high school student, Light Yagami, who stumbles across a notebook, the titular "Death Note." The supernatural object grants Light the ability to kill anybody just by simply writing their name down in the notebook. Developing a god complex over the sudden power, Light intends on becoming a god to this newfound world inhabited by people he deemed to be "good." A detective named L is alerted to the sudden deaths and investigates the murders, leading him to Light.

Anyways, Iron Man 3 director Shane Black was attached to a live-action Hollywood adaptation of Death Note back in 2011, but production on the film has obviously stalled, given the lack of news in the subsequent three years. If rumors are true, the production might have found a kick in the ass in the form of director Gus Van Sant. The director is rumored to replace Black on the film. The director is best known for directing Good Will Hunting and Milk, but he's also known for his atmospheric, arthouse-style films like Elephant and Last Days, which were fictional accounts inspired by the Columbine massacre and Kurt Cobain's suicide, respectively.

Given his resume, Van Sant would fit perfectly with a Death Note adaptation. However, this is an unconfirmed rumor for now. Death Note and Gus Van Sant fans: what do you think about this potential pairing?

[via /Film]