Well known to seriesphiles for his roles in Doctor Who or more recently in the hit Netflix series The Crown, Matt Smith will soon wear the role of American psychopath Charles Manson in the independent film Charlie Says, directed by Mary Harron (American Psycho). The opportunity to take a tour of the different projects carried out around the criminal.
Manson and the Manson Family
After the cult film American Psycho, focusing on the psychopath Patrick Bateman, it is the turn of Charles Manson and his Manson family to pass under the scrutiny of the director Mary Harron. But despite the popularity of the actor as well as that of the psychopath, it will be on three of the murderesses of the Manson Family, a group of women sex slaves following their leader, that this last film will linger. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the director will focus on the evolution of these three female characters, before, during and well after the murders committed by the Manson Family. While the death penalty is being abolished in the United States, the scenario will focus on the psychology of the three characters, with a life sentence, who will gradually have to face their mistakes. A cast that already looks promising, including rising English star Suki Waterhouse (Assassination Nation, released on January 21), Hannah Murray (Game Of Thrones) or Carla Gugino (Sin City, Watchmen: The Guardians), who will join Matt Smith.
The fascination of crime
But in the absence of a film, it is a real culture, not only cinematographic, but also popular that seems to be created around the criminal and his gang. Director Quentin Tarantino is in pre-production for his ninth film, which will be set against the backdrop of the murder of Sharon Tate on August 9, 1969, wife (eight months pregnant) of Roman Polanski, famous director. While the information is distributed in dribs and drabs, aficionados of his cinema are already very impatient for the theatrical release of the project, to the tunes already felt by Pulp Fiction. Last fall, Charles Manson was also played by actor Evan Peters in the latest installment of American Horror Story – Cult. And more recently, it is the actress Hilary Duff who has slipped under the skin of Sharon Tate, not to mention the many references of the criminal in the musical culture (N.W.A or Marylin Manson).
"And in a moment of passion get the glory like Charles Manson" – The Ramones
If the fascination is growing more and more, it is because the 50th anniversary is approaching. But while the whole Hollywood seems to have an interest in this case, the family remains very shocked by this ascencion of success to this macabre story, demonstrates Debra Tate, the sister of Sharon Tate. It was during an interview for People that she revealed:
To see how everyone rushes to release something for the 50th anniversary of this horrific event, it's just tasteless and classless.
Sometimes fascinating, sometimes frightening, the Charles Manson affair reflects one of the darkest parts of modern America: the cult of personality. Having already been brilliantly interpreted in American Horror Story – Cult, you have not finished hearing about Charles Manson.
