Robert Duvall's next little gems. (Hollywood Report).(new film projects)(Brief Article)

The success of Robert Duvall's 1998 film The Apostle surprised many in the big Hollywood studios who never would have bet on a project about a Pentacostal evangelist whose sermons bring about powerful religious conversions. Now Duvall and his producing partner Rob Carliner are trying to navigate two more unconventional movies through the studio roadblocks. If they're successful, a couple of projects that have been close to the 71-year-old Oscar winner's heart for years will finally see the light of day.

It's been almost three years since Duvall set off to Kilnockie, Scotland with director Michael Corrente and a paltry budget of $9 million to film A Shot at Glory. Duvall plays soccer coach Gordon McLeod, whose second-tier team is in the midst of a make-or-break season. Some who've seen early cuts report that the picture comes off like a cross between Rocky and Any Given Sunday. But despite a promising debut at the Toronto Film Festival in 2001 and good press in Scotland, the U.S. release of the picture is stalled because of trouble financing the exorbitant cost of making thousands of prints and shipping them to theaters. (This kind of logistical hurdle can obstruct even stars with Duvall's clout if they don't have a conglomerate behind them.)

The plot centers on whether Duvall's character, a staunch Catholic, will ever put aside his resentment toward his daughter for marrying outside her faith. It soon becomes clear that the coach needs the skills of his soccer champion son-in-law on the field. If there's a losing season, the team's American owner (played by Michael Keaton) will shutter the franchise.

In addition to using experienced players in the cast (former soccer star Ally McCoist plays the son-in-law), director Corrente enlisted cameramen who had worked World Cup tournaments to photograph the plays in A Shot at Glory. "So often with athletic films, you don't see the athletics done right" said Duvall in an interview. "With the real players it was wonderful."

But the film into which, as Duvall told TAE, he has poured his biggest emotional investment, is a drama called Assassination Tango, made on a total budget less than half of what stars like Tom Cruise charge for their services alone. To help ...