Back in January, the news broke that Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Robert Zemeckis were considering a collaboration on To Reach The Clouds, the story of Philippe Petit, the daring doer featured in Man On Wire. Plans have moved on apace, because the director has his star in place and is busy surrounding him with the likes of Ben Kingsley, James Badge Dale and Charlotte Le Bon{
Petit, of course, is most famous – or infamous, perhaps – for pulling off a high-wire act between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974. But that wasn’t his only feat, something that Man On Wire made clear.
Now Zemeckis, working from a script he co-wrote with Christopher Browne, is planning to kick off shooting this summer in Montreal for a film that will explore even more of Petit’s life.
Kingsley will play his mentor, while his fellow** Iron Man 3** veteran Dale is in negotiations to be the daredevil’s best friend. Le Bon, who is best known for the Yves Saint Laurent biopic but will be seen in T****he Hundred-Foot Journey later this year, will be Petit’s girlfriend, a street singer who helps him with his acts.