Forty years ago today, a French tightrope artist named Philippe Petit walked from one World Trade Center tower to the other on an illegal wire. It was a caper worthy of Mission: Impossible and the subject of an award-winning documentary, Man on Wire. But neither Petit’s book, To Reach The Clouds, nor Man on Wire could do what Robert Zemeckis is about to do – put you up there with Petit in a 3D/IMAX 3D film.
It’s called The Walk and stars, among others, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (as Petit), Ben Kinglsey (Iron Man 3), James Badge Dale (Flight) and Charlotte Le Bon (The Hundred-Foot Journey). The Walk will premiere on October 5, 2015. Further details await just beyond the jump.
TRISTAR ANNOUNCES TITLE AND WRAP OF PRODUCTION FOR “THE WALK” 3D / IMAX 3D CAPER FILM DIRECTED BY ROBERT ZEMECKIS STARRING JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT BASED ON PHILIPPE PETIT’S BOOK “TO REACH THE CLOUDS”
Tomorrow Marks the 40th Anniversary of Petit’s August 7, 1974 Walk Between the Twin Towers
Montréal, Canada, August 6, 2014 – Principal photography has wrapped on the inaugural film from Tom Rothman’s TriStar Productions, now officially titled The Walk. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the film is a true story based on Philippe Petit’s book “To Reach the Clouds,” starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the young dreamer who dared the impossible: an illegal wire walk between the World Trade Center towers. Zemeckis wrote the screenplay with Christopher Browne. Producers are Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis, and Jack Rapke. The film will be released on October 2, 2015.
Tomorrow, August 7, is the 40th anniversary of the astounding event, now being brought back to vivid life in the third act climax of the film.
Twelve people have walked on the moon, but only one man has ever, or will ever, walk in the immense void between the World Trade Center towers. Guided by his real-life mentor, Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley), and aided by an unlikely band of international recruits, Petit and his gang overcome long odds, betrayals, dissension and countless close calls to conceive and execute their mad plan. Robert Zemeckis, the director of such marvels as Forrest Gump, Cast Away, Back to the Future, Polar Express, and Flight, again uses cutting edge technology in the service of an emotional, character-driven story. With innovative photorealistic techniques and IMAX 3D wizardry, The Walk is true big-screen cinema, a chance for moviegoers to viscerally experience the feeling of reaching the clouds. The film is a love letter to Paris and New York City in the 1970s, but most of all, to the Towers of the World Trade Center.
Also starring in the film are James Badge Dale, Ben Schwartz, Charlotte Le Bon, Clément Sibony and César Domboy.
The production’s creative team includes director of photography Dariusz Wolski, production designer Naomi Shohan, editor Jeremiah O’Driscoll, and costume designer Suttirat Larlarb. The composer is Alan Silvestri.
Moviegoers can follow the film on the official movie site at www.thewalkmovie.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheWalkMovie or on Twitter @TheWalkMovie.
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Photos by Takashi Seida/Courtesy of TriStar Pictures