40 years ago, a French artist Philippe Petit risked his life to walk on a tightrope between the World Trade Center towers. He successfully captivated the world with his bold move and the astounding event became the highlight of his life.
And now, history repeats itself as Joseph Gordon-Levitt is set to play Philippe Petit in a live-action feature film, “The Walk”.
Annie and Philippe Petit / Sony Pictures Entertainment
The film is based on Philippe Petit’s book, “To Reach the Clouds”, that has been previously detailed in James Marsh’s Oscar-winning documentary, “Man On Wire”. The story centres on Philippe Petit, a young dreamer who dared to do the impossible by doing an illegal wire walk between the World Trade Center towers.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is seen sporting a retro look with the floppy 70s haircut as he portrays his role as Philippe Petit. His co-star Charlotte Le Bon will be playing Petit’s long-time girlfriend Annie, whom he later broke up with after the walk.
Image via Sony Pictures Entertainment
British actor Ben Kingsley will be playing Petit’s real-life mentor Papa Rude while Petit’s gang will be played by James Badge Dale, Ben Schwartz, Clément Sibony ,and César Domboy. Petit and his gang will overcome long odds, betrayals, dissension and countless close calls to conceive and execute their mad plan.
In the film, director Robert Zemeckis has once again uses cutting edge technology with innovative photorealistic techniques and IMAX 3D wizardry. The film is in the service of an emotional, character-driven story as well, similar to the films he has previously directed such as Forrest Gump, Cast Away, Back to the Future, Polar Express, and Flight.
Because 7th August was the 40th anniversary of the event, The Walk star Joseph Gordon-Levitt has also taken the opportunity to promote his new film:
40 years ago TODAY, Philippe Petit walked the high wire b/w the Twin Towers. Happy Anniversary, @PetitWTC!! #ImpossibleDream @TheWalkMovie
— Joseph Gordon-Levitt (@hitRECordJoe) August 7, 2014
The film is currently in its post-production stage and it will be released on 2nd October 2014.
For more information, check out the movie’s official website or Facebook page. They’re also on Twitter here so follow them for more timely updates!