If you've seen Man On Wire, the documentary directed so adroitly by The Theory Of Everything's James Marsh, you will already be familiar with tightrope maverick and all-round daredevil Petite Philippe and his World Trade Center-spanning exploits in 1974. Alternatively, you may have read his recollections of the experience in Empire's recent 'What Happened Next?' celebration of man and movie. If you haven't seen either, there's only one thing to keep in mind: don't look down. Never look down.
Giving the death-defying feat a fresh big-screen spin is Robert Zemeckis's The Walk. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Philippe, the film has a new teaser to share with the world. Click below to watch it.
Yes, this film will be shown in 3D *and *IMAX, a combination that threatens to leave anyone of a sensitive disposition (ie us) a gibbering wreck on the floor. The same may also apply to anyone suffering from malaphobia - a debilitating fear of wigs - judging by Gordon-Levitt's hairpiece.
Like Marsh's doc, Zemeckis' film seems likely to pitch the yarn as a kind of heist thriller by other means. "He wasn't trying to steal money or sell plutonium," says the director, who interviewed Petit for hours, adapting the script with Christopher Browne from the performance artist’s memoir To Reach The Clouds: My High Wire Walk Between The Twin Towers. "He was just trying to create performance art. And he created this beautiful, human moment that changed the way we looked at the towers." Starring alongside Gordon-Levitt are Charlotte Le Bon, James Badge Dale, Ben Schwartz and Ben Kingsley. The Walk is scheduled to arrive here on October 2, 2015.