Did you like the Oscar winning documentary “Man On Wire“? Do you want to see a feature film retelling? Well, it looks like it’s happening. Twitch reports that Joseph Gordon-Levitt will walk the tightrope in “To Reach The Clouds,” with Robert Zemeckis at the helm, clearly enjoying the world of high-flying drama following “Flight.” The film will based on Philippe Petit‘s book, recounting his daring stunt of walking on a wire strung between the Twin Towers in 1974. Here’s the Amazon synopsis:
One late-summer day, a feat of unimaginable audacity was perpetrated on the twin towers of the World Trade Center. The year was 1974. A hundred thousand people gathered on the ground to watch in awe as twenty-four-year-old high wire artist Philippe Petit made eight crossings between the all-but-completed towers, a quarter mile above the earth, over the course of nearly an hour.
Petit’s achievement made headlines around the world. Yet few who saw or heard about it realized that it was the fulfillment of a dream he had nurtured for six years, rekindling it each time it was in danger of expiring. His accomplices were a motley crew of foreigners and Americans, who under Petit’s direction had conspired, connived, labored, argued, rehearsed, and improvised to make possible an act of unsurpassed aerial artistry.
In this visually and verbally stunning book, Petit tells for the first time the dramatic story of this history-making walk, from conception and clandestine planning to the performance and its aftermath. The account draws on Petit’s journals, which capture everything from his budgets to his strategies for rigging a high wire in the dead of night between two of the most secure towers in the world. It is animated by photographs taken by two of Petit’s collaborators, and by his own wonderfully evocative sketches and unquenchable humor.
It’s great drama, and easy to see why someone would want to make a movie of it, even though there’s already a pretty terrific documentary account. No word on the screenwriter, but apparently with JGL joining, this has some fresh momentum. And Deadline notes, this will be in 3D. Obvs.
In other casting news: With Joe Wright‘s “Pan” now Warner Bros. big summer 2015 hopeful after they pushed “Batman Vs. Superman” to 2016, the wheels are starting to turn faster on the fantasy flick. Deadline reports that Garrett Hedlund has been offered to the role of Hook, and should he take it, he’ll join Hugh Jackman who’s playing Blackbeard. And oh yeah, this will be in shot in 3D, so while we may not be sold yet on a reinvention of this story, we are curious to see what Wright does with the format.
It seems Kevin Smith‘s “Clerks 3” talk is coalescing into reality. With the latest update promising that the sequel will shoot in May, it looks like the director is rounding up some of the told gang to reprise their roles, in addition to Brian O’Halloran and Jeff Anderson. Rosario Dawson, who played Becky in “Clerks 2,” says that she’ll return as well, telling Den Of Geek, “I’m in it!” Though, even Dawson isn’t quite certain yet when it will get in front of cameras.
Lastly, one of our 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2014 keeps getting more exciting. Variety reports The always excellent Sarah Paulson (“12 Years A Slave,” “Mud“) has come aboard Todd Haynes‘ “Carol.” She’ll join Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara in the adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith novel, set in 1950s New York, that follows a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life, and falls for an older, married woman. Paulson will play the “ex-lover and current confidante” of Blanchett’s character. Production starts in March.