Billy Zane Is the Spitting Image in First Trailer for Waltzing with Brando
When the first images were released last week of actor Billy Zane, turned into the legendary Marlon Brando for upcoming film Waltzing with Brando, observers were stunned by the quality of the transformation. The makeup and prosthetics work have been used to achieve a truly uncanny resemblance, to the point that Zane as Don Corleone in The Godfather looks almost indistinguishable to the one seen in the original 1972 film. Now we have a full trailer for Waltzing with Brando landing online today, and … well, it’s not exactly what we were expecting?
One would probably anticipate the idea of a Marlon Brando biopic to focus primarily on the man’s career in Hollywood, his legendary roles and eccentric lifestyle as one of the country’s most recognizable leading men. Waltzing with Brando, on the other hand, zeroes in on a smaller slice of his life, during the period in which he was planning the construction of the island retreat in Tahiti that would eventually become his effective fortress of solitude. Rather than focusing on the man’s film career, this seems to make up the majority of the film, as the official synopsis suggests:
The film is set primarily from 1969 and 1974, during which Marlon Brando was preparing to star in The Godfather and Last Tango in Paris whilst making plans with Bernard Judge to create a paradise getaway on Tahiti.
Architect Judge, a noted proponent of environmentally conscious building and renovation, is played by John Heder and seems like he might be the film’s primary viewpoint character: An idealistic architect who meets a wealthy, perhaps delusional Hollywood A-lister who dreams of building a deeply unrealistic tropical paradise without considering all of the complexities of doing so. Heder is joined in the cast by Richard Dreyfuss and Tia Carrere, which is one of the more unusual ensembles we’ve seen in recent memory. Spoiler alert: Brando did eventually get his Tahitian paradise built, along with a resort, albeit one that was destroyed in a 1983 hurricane. The actor resided there off and on over the years, including during the period he was making infamous, troubled films like 1996’s The Island of Dr. Moreau.
The trailer for Waltzing with Brando, meanwhile, strikes an odd tone–it seems to be billing itself as a kooky comedy about building something that seems to be impossible, rather than the more serious biographical drama one would likely expect. The use of stock-sounding music is also an odd touch for the film, especially given that it was directed by prolific music video director Bill Fishman. All in all, it’s a decidedly unusual vibe, but at least the 58-year-old Zane seems to be having a great time. We don’t have a specific release date for Waltzing with Brando yet, but the film is ticketed for a 2025 debut. You can check out Zane in action as Brando in the trailer below.