Cinematical

Bernd Eichinger, the writer-producer whose masterful Downfall broke the long-held German taboo against the portrayal of Adolf Hitler on the big screen, will be undertaking another source of national shame for his next project. According to Variety, Eichinger is currently working with writer Stefan Aust on an adaptation of the latter's Der Baader Meinhof Komplex, an examination of the 1970s terrorist group (also known as the Red Army Faction, or RAF) that has been described as "the most important standard work for the history of the left-revolutionary terrorism in Germany."

Though Eichinger spent nearly two decades in total on Downfall, he says the Baader Meinhof project is coming along with surprising speed, and feels the film will be made "in the foreseeable future." The producer suggests that the immediacy of this new film's subject matter may make it ultimately even more controversial than his Hitler work, if only because "This is a chapter in German history that's not really been dealt with and a lot of historical facts are only being discovered or disclosed now."

Eichinger has a LOT on his plate right now and is notorious for his slow script-development, so it's anyone's guess when Baader Meinhof will start shooting. That said, however, given the depth and seriousness of Downfall, he seems to be the prefect man to undertake this issue, and his effort will probably be well worth the wait.