Exclusive: Two-time Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz (The ungrateful bastards), Weird things And Artist, band leader Stars Maya Hawke, Best Actor Winner at Cannes, John Turturro (to cut), and Emmy Award winner Jon Hamm (mad men) is set to star in Oscar-nominated director Stephen Frears’ film (the queen) Wilder and mewhich will be a noisy pack in this month’s EFM market.
Hawke will play Calista, a young musician whose life takes on a whole new meaning while working on the set of a Billy Wilder film. Fedora. Waltz will play legendary film director Wilder, known for his classic films including… Some like it hot, Sunset Street And Flat. Turturro will play his lifelong friend and screenwriting partner IAL Diamond. Hamm will be played by famous actor William Holden.
The project has been described as a “bittersweet drama”, and has been adapted for the screen by two-time Academy Award winner Christopher Hampton (the father) with Academy Award winner Jeremy Thomas (The last emperor) Production and filming are scheduled to take place in early 2025 in Greece.
CAA Media Finance, which is arranging financing for the film, represents North American rights, while HanWay Films is handling the rest of the world.
Based on Jonathan Coe’s famous novel Mr. Wilder and meThe project then brings Hampton and Frears together again Dangerous relationships And Shery.
The story begins during a bustling Greek summer, and sees Callista fall in love with cinema and life on a journey of self-discovery. Thrilled by her new adventure, Calista follows Wilder to Munich and Paris to continue filming with leading actor William Holden, and experiences her first love. Realizing that his star is on the decline, Wilder navigates the changing world of cinema at the end of his career, while Callista’s is just beginning. The time she spends in this magical, unfamiliar new life will change her forever.
The plan is to take advantage of some of the Greek locations originally used by Wilder. Jeremy Thomas is producing for Recorded Picture Company, his second film with Frears after the thriller injury. Thomas also collaborated with Hampton on the David Cronenberg film And the dangerous way.
“This is the most amazing project,” Frears said today. Wilder was sharp, witty and very funny. And he directed Marilyn Monroe twice! Christoph Waltz would be great. I always follow the script and that’s great.
Hampton added:Wilder and me is the story of veteran filmmakers of the 1970s, who began to realize the extent of changes within the industry and the ways in which they had failed to keep up with the times; It is about the memories that haunt the immigrant upon his return to the graveyard of Europe; It shows how an open-minded young generation can draw inspiration from the giants of the past.
Jeremy Thomas commented: “Billy Wilder has filled us all with the joy of cinema with some of the most memorable films ever made. Our story, told through the eyes of a young woman on the set of one of Billy’s last films, shows why they still retain so much magic.”
“It’s always exciting to announce such a large package of award-winning talent both in front of and behind the camera like Waltz, Turturro, Frears and Hampton,” noted HanWay’s Gabrielle Stewart. “At her core, Maya Hawke is the perfect actress to take us on a magical journey of self-discovery and first love in Filming location of a legendary film director.
Christoph Waltz is repped by Adam Schweitzer, Dar Rollins and Lynn Morrow at CAA. Maya Hawke is repped by Franklin Latt, Andrea Weintraub, Peter Levin and Robbie Kaye at CAA, and managed by Lisa Zusman and Jason Weintraub at Untitled Entertainment. UTA is represented by John Turturro and George Shenchang. Jon Hamm is represented by Chris Andrews and Rayan Aboushi at CAA.