Christoph Waltz to star in Billy Wilder & Me.
The James Bond star will play one of Hollywood’s golden age icons in a new film directed by Stephen Frears.
The film was announced by legendary producer Jeremy Thomas and is based on Jonathan Coe’s 2020 book Mr. Wilder and Me, with Christopher Hampton adapting the story for the big screen.
Set in the summer of 1977, the film is part coming-of-age story, part real-life portrait of a beloved director.
An innocent young woman begins working for a famous director on a Greek island during the filming of Fedora, and as she follows Wilder to Germany to continue filming, she finds herself joining him on a memory journey to the heart of a movie icon. family history.
Production on the project will begin in spring 2023 in Greece, Munich and Paris, with other leads to be announced shortly.
Waltz, a two-time Oscar winner, said: “Billy Wilder said, ‘You have to have a dream so you can get up in the morning.’ A Stephen Frears film written by Christopher Hampton and produced by Jeremy Thomas should help. the form.”
Frears added: “Europe and Hollywood. Hollywood and Europe. The most interesting dilemma in cinema.
Hampton also said: “From the time we first met in Los Angeles in the early eighties, Billy Wilder has been very kind and supportive of me.
“Jonathan Coe’s wonderful novel provided the perfect opportunity to express my gratitude and admiration for one of the undisputed giants of film history.”
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