After years of mediocre, sometimes dreadful roles, it's nice to see Al Pacino again interested in something that offers some kind of dramatic promise. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pacino is in talks to portray Dr. Jack Kevorkian in You Don't Know Jack, the upcoming HBO biopic from director Barry Levinson (Rain Man, Good Morning Vietnam, The Natural).
Dr. Kevorkian gained notoriety in the '90s for supporting physician-assisted suicide and claiming personal responsibility for more than 150 deaths. He was eventually convicted of second-degree murder and spent eight years in prison before being released on parole in June 2007. The film will reportedly cover events leading to Kevorkian's first assisted suicide and the media blitz that resulted from his legal battles in defense of a patient's right to die.
Levinson is also executive producing the project, which once had Ben Kingsley in the role of Kevorkian. Screenwriter Adam Mazer (Breach) adapted the script from Neal Nicol's book Between the Dying and the Dead: Dr. Jack Kevorkian's Life and the Battle to Legalize Euthanasia.