By FilmInk Staff
After a variety of different accusers pretty much painted Oscar winning actor Kevin Spacey as a serial sexual harasser with a penchant for those younger and much lesser powerful than himself, the once well-loved performer’s career was deemed to be well and truly over. He was sacked from his hit Netflix TV series House Of Cards (one of the earliest defining shows for the streaming platform) and his scenes from Ridley Scott’s All The Money In The World were reshot with Christopher Plummer taking over his role.
Despite a few odd online video appearances of his own curious making, Kevin Spacey appeared to have been well and truly cancelled, with his sensational performances in films like The Usual Suspects, Se7en, American Beauty and many, many others now sadly and horribly tainted for the rest of time. But it now appears that the rumours of Spacey’s complete cancellation may have been exaggerated, with the actor just announced to be taking on a major role in the upcoming film 1242: Gateway To The West.
The UK/Hungarian/Mongolian co-production also stars Eric Roberts, Christopher Lambert, Terence Stamp and newcomers Jeremy Neumark-Jones and Genevieve Florence, with veteran Hungarian director Peter Soos at the helm from a script by Aron Horvath and Joan Lane. The film tells the story of Genghis Khan’s grandson Batu Khan, who was elected commander in chief of the western part of the Mongol empire. A skilled military commander, he won battles from China to Persia and was given responsibility for the invasion of Europe. But in 1242, Khan is confronted by a deeply spiritual man and a castle in Hungary that halts his invasion of Europe and ultimately causes his downfall.
A millions miles away from the blue ribbon Hollywood material on which he built his reputation, this very odd sounding Euro-pudding of a film is a fair indicator of what Kevin Spacey will be busying himself with for the rest of his career. So while it might appear that his cancellation has been cancelled, Kevin Spacey still remains in a kind of cinematic purgatory, populated with historical b-movies and other actors whose careers have seen far, far better days. At least film 1242: Gateway To The West might function as a hopeful beacon to the likes of Geoffrey Rush, Craig McLachlan, Chris Noth, Armie Hammer and Marilyn Manson…
