Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind, The Dark Tower) has been working on getting his first feature film directing gig to the big screen for quite awhile now. His project is an adaptation of Mark Helprin's 1983 novel Winter's Tale. The project hasn't gone anywhere since it was first announced last year due to financial issues, but today Vulture is reporting that the film has landed a couple of huge big name actors to help thrust the project into production... Will Smith and Russell Crowe.
The story is set in both nineteenth-century and present-day Manhattan, and follows "a petty thief who falls in love with the dying girl who inhabits the house he’s just burgled and the gangster boss bent on killing him." According to the report, Crowe is in negotiations to play Pearly Soames, the gangster boss, and Smith would end up playing a judge. They are still...
The story is set in both nineteenth-century and present-day Manhattan, and follows "a petty thief who falls in love with the dying girl who inhabits the house he’s just burgled and the gangster boss bent on killing him." According to the report, Crowe is in negotiations to play Pearly Soames, the gangster boss, and Smith would end up playing a judge. They are still...
- 2/2/2012
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
Russell Crowe is confirmed and Will Smith is said to be attached to Akiva Goldsman's directorial debut "Winter's Tale" reports Vulture.
An adaptation of Mark Helprin's 1983 novel, the $75 million fantasy drama follows Peter Lake, an orphaned mechanic who tries to rob a palatial West Side mansion. There he meets a young dying girl who he becomes determined to save.
A flying white horse also configures into the story which is set in both 19th Century and contemporary Manhattan. Shooting kicks off later this year.
Crowe will play a gangster boss with Smith appearing as a judge. Both actors have worked with Goldsman at least twice before.
An adaptation of Mark Helprin's 1983 novel, the $75 million fantasy drama follows Peter Lake, an orphaned mechanic who tries to rob a palatial West Side mansion. There he meets a young dying girl who he becomes determined to save.
A flying white horse also configures into the story which is set in both 19th Century and contemporary Manhattan. Shooting kicks off later this year.
Crowe will play a gangster boss with Smith appearing as a judge. Both actors have worked with Goldsman at least twice before.
- 2/2/2012
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Akiva Goldsman may have produced some of the biggest projects with some of the biggest names in Hollywood during the 90s and 00s, but the director hasn’t had a movie to call his own. But for the past few years, he’s been trying to make his directorial debut a reality, by adapting Winter’s Tale for the movie screen. Now he is adding a few more pieces to his directorial debut by adding names like Will Smith and Russell Crowe.
Now nothing if definite, but Vulture does report that negotiations are happening between the two A-listers and that the budget for the adaptation has been significantly reduced. According the report, Goldsman had to call in a few favors for getting Smith and Crowe into early negotiations.
As for the big screen adaptation of Winter’s Tale, the movie will tell the story of an alternate 19th century Manhattan...
Now nothing if definite, but Vulture does report that negotiations are happening between the two A-listers and that the budget for the adaptation has been significantly reduced. According the report, Goldsman had to call in a few favors for getting Smith and Crowe into early negotiations.
As for the big screen adaptation of Winter’s Tale, the movie will tell the story of an alternate 19th century Manhattan...
- 2/1/2012
- by Mike Lee
- FusedFilm
Vulture reports that Will Smith will team for the first time with fellow A-list actor Russell Crowe in Winter’s Tale, the fantasy, time-bending Warner Bros drama that marks the directorial debut of screenwriter Akiva Goldsman. Crowe was cast back in November to play the villain.
The film is an adaptation of Mark Helprin’s 1983 best-selling novel that flips back and forth between two different time periods in Manhattan, one in the early 19th century and one later that century. It centers on the love between an Irish burglar and a dying young woman, though Crowe & Smith have neither parts, instead taking supporting turns as a judge (Smith) and as gangster Pearly Soames (Crowe).
I’ve never read the much loved novel but it has such a complex plot that there isn’t really anyway to condense it into a few sentences, so here’s how the book is officially...
The film is an adaptation of Mark Helprin’s 1983 best-selling novel that flips back and forth between two different time periods in Manhattan, one in the early 19th century and one later that century. It centers on the love between an Irish burglar and a dying young woman, though Crowe & Smith have neither parts, instead taking supporting turns as a judge (Smith) and as gangster Pearly Soames (Crowe).
I’ve never read the much loved novel but it has such a complex plot that there isn’t really anyway to condense it into a few sentences, so here’s how the book is officially...
- 2/1/2012
- by Matt Holmes
- Obsessed with Film
It's not often that you see heavy-hitters like Will Smith and Russell Crowe (whose names alone can march us all to the box office in droves) sign on to films as supporting cast. And for both of them to do it in the same movie?
That must be some movie.
Both Smith and Crowe have joined the cast of Akiva Goldsman's directorial debut "Winter's Tale." Based on the time-jumping, anything goes Mark Helprin fantasy novel of the same name, the film will feature Smith as a judge and Crowe as a head gangster named Pearly Soames as the setting shifts back-and-forth between nineteenth-century and present-day Manhattan... with flying horses.
The two main characters in the story, Peter Lake and Beverly Penn, are still as of yet un-cast, but, in a nutshell, the two fall in love after he breaks into her Manhattan apartment and discovers her there, dying of...
That must be some movie.
Both Smith and Crowe have joined the cast of Akiva Goldsman's directorial debut "Winter's Tale." Based on the time-jumping, anything goes Mark Helprin fantasy novel of the same name, the film will feature Smith as a judge and Crowe as a head gangster named Pearly Soames as the setting shifts back-and-forth between nineteenth-century and present-day Manhattan... with flying horses.
The two main characters in the story, Peter Lake and Beverly Penn, are still as of yet un-cast, but, in a nutshell, the two fall in love after he breaks into her Manhattan apartment and discovers her there, dying of...
- 2/1/2012
- by Amanda Bell
- NextMovie
[1] Though Akiva Goldsman has been behind some of Hollywood's biggest hits of the '90s and '00s as a screenwriter and a producer, it's only now that he's gearing up to make his directorial debut. For the past few years, he's been trying to get together an adaptation of Mark Helprin's magical realism novel Winter's Tale, and he finally got the green light [2] from Warner Bros. last year. Now the project is taking another big step forward, as two huge names enter talks to star: Russell Crowe and Will Smith. More after the jump. Crowe was reported as being "loosely attached" to play the villain Pearly Soames last November [3], but Vulture [4] now updates that status to "in negotiations." Smith would have a supporting role as a judge. The site reports that Goldsman "called in every favor he had" to land the two stars, both of whom have previously...
- 2/1/2012
- by Angie Han
- Slash Film
It’d be fair to say that movement’s been a tad sluggish for Akiva Goldsman and his passion project, Winter’s Tale. After all, we haven’t heard anything on this for almost three months — since several potential stars had their name thrown around — and, at the time, the need for a third-party financier led me to comment that a big name absolutely needed to be found.
Found they are. As Vulture reports, Goldsman “called in every favor he had” to save Winter’s Tale, and it’s paid off in a substantial way — Will Smith and Russell Crowe, the latter of whom was “loosely attached” in November, are now on board. Part-wise, the former will play a judge; the latter, meanwhile, will appear as “Pearly Soames, [a] gangster boss.” You might be asking why there’s a gangster in the story. (I’ll just pretend you did, for the sake of a transition.
Found they are. As Vulture reports, Goldsman “called in every favor he had” to save Winter’s Tale, and it’s paid off in a substantial way — Will Smith and Russell Crowe, the latter of whom was “loosely attached” in November, are now on board. Part-wise, the former will play a judge; the latter, meanwhile, will appear as “Pearly Soames, [a] gangster boss.” You might be asking why there’s a gangster in the story. (I’ll just pretend you did, for the sake of a transition.
- 2/1/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
News on Da Vinci Code writer Akiva Goldsman‘s directing debut, Winter’s Tale, popped up in February. An adaptation of Mark Helpin‘s novel, it follows “Peter Lake, a middle-aged Irish burglar who breaks into a fortress-like mansion only to find a dying young girl inside.” The two of them soon fall in love, and the reader (or viewer) comes across “flying horses, and a fantastical, mythical New York City.”
THR provides the latest update on the project, with Goldsman now in the midst of casting. Readings are taking place right now, with Thor‘s Tom Hiddleston and Paradise Lost‘s Benjamin Walker vying for the male lead. The female lead, meanwhile, is being considered for In Time‘s Bella Heathcote, Elizabeth Olsen, A Dangerous Method actress Sarah Gadon, and Gabriele Wilde of Three Musketeers… fame. Russell Crowe is the only actor officially involved, but he’s merely said to be “loosely attached.
THR provides the latest update on the project, with Goldsman now in the midst of casting. Readings are taking place right now, with Thor‘s Tom Hiddleston and Paradise Lost‘s Benjamin Walker vying for the male lead. The female lead, meanwhile, is being considered for In Time‘s Bella Heathcote, Elizabeth Olsen, A Dangerous Method actress Sarah Gadon, and Gabriele Wilde of Three Musketeers… fame. Russell Crowe is the only actor officially involved, but he’s merely said to be “loosely attached.
- 11/8/2011
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Akiva Goldsman is still working towards the realization of his first effort as a feature film director. For quite some time, the writer/producer has wanted to bring to the screen an adaptation of Mark Helprin's novel Winter's Tale. In February Warner Bros. agreed to make the film [1], though at the time it looked like the project was going to have to wait until after the shoot for the first feature in the Dark Tower series, which Goldsman is writing and producing. With The Dark Tower sidelined for the time being, Goldsman is actively working on Winter's Tale. A casting shortlist has emerged, and while the picks aren't final by any means, this will give you an idea of where he's going with the project. THR [2] says that Russell Crowe, nominated for an Oscar in the Goldsman-penned A Beautiful Mind, is loosely attached to play the villain of the film.
- 11/7/2011
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
Russell Crowe, Tom Hiddleston, Benjamin Walker, Bella Heathcote, Elizabeth Olsen and more have all been approached for a role in writer and producer Akiva Goldsman’s directorial debut of adaptation of Winter’s Tale. The film, based on Mark Helprin’s 1983 novel of the same name, is set up at Warner Brothers. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Russell Crowe is loosely attached to play the villain, and both Tom Hiddleston & Benjamin Walker have done read this past weekend for the male role, a fugitive who takes care of a terminally ill woman.
Bella Heathcote, Elizabeth Olsen, Gabriele Wilde, and Sarah Gadon are all up for the role the terminally ill woman. For this project to fall through, the studio needs to find a third-party financier.
Here is a premise of the novel (via Amazon)
Peter Lake attempts to rob a Manhattan mansion only to find the daughter of the house at home.
Bella Heathcote, Elizabeth Olsen, Gabriele Wilde, and Sarah Gadon are all up for the role the terminally ill woman. For this project to fall through, the studio needs to find a third-party financier.
Here is a premise of the novel (via Amazon)
Peter Lake attempts to rob a Manhattan mansion only to find the daughter of the house at home.
- 11/7/2011
- by Mike Lee
- FusedFilm
Nope, he's not playing Leontes or Polixenes, or covering David Essex songs with his band. The Winter's Tale that Russell Crowe may be involved in is based on the magic realist novel by Mark Helprin, and marks the directorial debut of screenwriter Akiva Goldsman.Set in a fairytale, fantastical, turn-of-the-century New York, the book involves a love story between orphaned Irish burglar Peter Lake and the dying Beverly Penn, inhabitant of an upper-West-Side mansion he targets. Which goes little way to describing a novel that involves vision quests, New York street gangs, guardian angel flying white horses and messianic self-sacrifice. Lake also disappears for a number of years, hence the Shakespeare-riffing title. Nobody gets pursued by a bear though.Rather than Lake, THR's story says that Crowe is "loosely attached" to play "the villain" in the film. Nothing is quite that clear-cut in the novel, but we're guessing the antagonist...
- 11/7/2011
- EmpireOnline
You might not know him for his name and face, but you absolutely know Akiva Goldsman for his work: he won an Academy Award for his work on "A Beautiful Mind," handled script duties on "The Da Vinci Code," and he also wrote "Batman & Robin." Nobody's perfect!
Goldsman has also had his hand in many projects as a producer, but one area of the filmmaking world he hasn't explore too greatly is directing. He's stepped behind the lens for some episodes of Fox's fantastic sci-fi series "Fringe," but in the feature world, he's stayed away from the camera. Until now.
Deadline reports that Goldsman will mark his feature filmmaking debut with "Winter's Tale," an adaptation of the 1983 Mark Helprin novel of the same name. Goldsman, who wrote the screenplay himself, will start shooting the project in the spring of 2012 once he, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer have finished the first installment of "The Dark Tower.
Goldsman has also had his hand in many projects as a producer, but one area of the filmmaking world he hasn't explore too greatly is directing. He's stepped behind the lens for some episodes of Fox's fantastic sci-fi series "Fringe," but in the feature world, he's stayed away from the camera. Until now.
Deadline reports that Goldsman will mark his feature filmmaking debut with "Winter's Tale," an adaptation of the 1983 Mark Helprin novel of the same name. Goldsman, who wrote the screenplay himself, will start shooting the project in the spring of 2012 once he, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer have finished the first installment of "The Dark Tower.
- 2/2/2011
- by Josh Wigler
- MTV Movies Blog
Busy screenwriter/producer/director Akiva Goldsman will have his hands full with scripting the upcoming adaptation of Stephen King‘s Dark Tower series for director Ron Howard, which is looking more and more likely to have Javier Bardem toting the guns of Roland Deschain. Now, Deadline reports that Goldsman has secured his first feature directing gig, an adaptation of Mark Helprin‘s novel Winter’s Tale.
The 1983 novel centers around Peter Lake, a middle-aged Irish burglar who breaks into a fortress-like mansion only to find a dying young girl inside. Their love story powers the tale, which includes flying horses, and a fantastical, mythical New York City.
Warner Brothers, which has been home to the Oscar-winner (for scripting A Beautiful Mind) for years, has put up $75 million for this large-scale production, a huge show of their confidence in Goldsman. He has an impressive list of commercial hits to his credit,...
The 1983 novel centers around Peter Lake, a middle-aged Irish burglar who breaks into a fortress-like mansion only to find a dying young girl inside. Their love story powers the tale, which includes flying horses, and a fantastical, mythical New York City.
Warner Brothers, which has been home to the Oscar-winner (for scripting A Beautiful Mind) for years, has put up $75 million for this large-scale production, a huge show of their confidence in Goldsman. He has an impressive list of commercial hits to his credit,...
- 2/2/2011
- by Anthony Vieira
- The Film Stage
Screenwriter Akvia Goldsman is set to direct his first feature film Winter's Tale which will be an adaptation of the 1983 Mark Helprin novel that Goldsman adapted. Warner Bros. plans to get the production started for the film in spring of 2012. The screenwriter will get started on the project as soon as he's finished working with Ron Howard on the big screen adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series. Goldsman wrote that script and is producing The Dark Tower with Brian Grazer and King.
Goldsman is a talented screenwriter whose also directed a few episodes of the TV show Fringe. It will be interesting to see how he does with his first feature film.
Here's the description of the book:
New York City is subsumed in arctic winds, dark nights, and white lights, its life unfolds, for it is an extraordinary hive of the imagination, the greatest house ever built,...
Goldsman is a talented screenwriter whose also directed a few episodes of the TV show Fringe. It will be interesting to see how he does with his first feature film.
Here's the description of the book:
New York City is subsumed in arctic winds, dark nights, and white lights, its life unfolds, for it is an extraordinary hive of the imagination, the greatest house ever built,...
- 2/2/2011
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
For some time writer/producer Akiva Goldsman has wanted to direct [1] an adaptation of Mark Helprin's novel Winter's Tale. We haven't heard much about the project in the past year, especially since he's been busy in the past few months with the ambitious adaptation of Stephen King's Dark Tower novels. Now Winter's Tale seems to be greenlit based on a script written by Mr. Goldman, and it will be able to shoot in 2012. Deadline [2] says that Warner Bros. has set the picture to start in spring 2012, with the idea for it to move forward after The Dark Tower is done. Of course, that leaves just over a year for a hell of a lot of work to get done on The Dark Tower -- is that schedule even vaguely workable? Regardless, the site says that Warner Bros. is pretty high on the project, and has set it as a...
- 2/2/2011
- by Russ Fischer
- Slash Film
Akiva Goldsman will be making his feature directorial debut on Winter's Tale , an adaptation of the 1983 Mark Helprin novel which Goldsman wrote the screenplay for. The book is described as follows: Set in New York at the beginning and the end of the twentieth century, Winter´s Tale unfolds with such great narrative force and beauty that a reader can feel that its world is more real than his own. Standing alone on the page before the book begins are the words, I have been to another world, and come back. Listen to me. In that world, both winter and the city of New York (old and new) have the strength and character of protagonists, and the protagonists themselves move as if in a vivid dream. Though immensely complicated, the story is centered upon Peter Lake, a turn-of-the-century...
- 2/2/2011
- Comingsoon.net
Writer Akiva Goldsman ("A Beautiful Mind") will make his feature directorial debut on the $75 million fantasy drama "Winter's Tale" for Warner Bros. Pictures reports Deadline.
An adaptation of the 1983 Mark Helprin novel, the story follows Peter Lake, an orphaned mechanic who tries to rob a palatial West Side mansion. There he meets a young dying girl who he becomes determined to save.
A flying white horse also configures into the story which is set in both 19th Century and contemporary Manhattan.
Goldsman has previously directed episodes of "Fringe". Shooting kicks off Spring 2012 once he, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer completes his work on "The Dark Tower" adaptations for Universal Pictures.
An adaptation of the 1983 Mark Helprin novel, the story follows Peter Lake, an orphaned mechanic who tries to rob a palatial West Side mansion. There he meets a young dying girl who he becomes determined to save.
A flying white horse also configures into the story which is set in both 19th Century and contemporary Manhattan.
Goldsman has previously directed episodes of "Fringe". Shooting kicks off Spring 2012 once he, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer completes his work on "The Dark Tower" adaptations for Universal Pictures.
- 2/2/2011
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Exclusive: Akiva Goldsman is set to make his feature directorial debut on Winter's Tale, the 1983 Mark Helprin novel that Goldsman adapted. Warner Bros has set the picture for a spring 2012 start. Goldsman will make the picture after he, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer complete The Dark Tower, the adaptation of the Stephen King novel series for Universal Pictures, which has Javier Bardem in talks to star as mythical gunslinger Roland Deschain. Goldsman wrote that script and is producing The Dark Tower with Grazer and King. Goldsman, who won the Oscar for scripting A Beautiful Mind, has previously directed episodes of Fringe, on which he's a consulting producer. Helprin's novel is a story that centers around a thief, a dying girl and a flying white horse in 19th Century and contemporary Manhattan. Goldsman sparked to the fantasy element of the tale, and the fact that it is an unabashed love letter...
- 2/2/2011
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Actually despite that subhead this film is nothing to do with Shakespeare: the Winter's Tale to be adapted and directed by Akiva Goldsman is a Manhattan-set novel by Mark Helprin, now officially underway as a feature film at Warner.Set in a fairytale, fantastical turn-of-the-century New York, the book involves a love story between orphaned Irish burglar Peter Lake and the dying Beverly Penn, inhabitant of an upper-West-Side mansion he targets. Which goes little way to describing a novel that involves vision quests, New York street gangs, guardian angel flying white horses and messianic self sacrifice. Lake also disappears for a number of years, hence the Bard-riffing title.Goldsman apparently loves the story's fantasy elements, as well as its eulogising of his native New York, which is why he's chosen Winter's Tale as his big-screen directorial debut (although he's directed some episodes of Fringe for TV). A prolific screenwriter -...
- 2/2/2011
- EmpireOnline
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