The actor rumored for the part last month, Deadline is reporting that Joseph Gordon-Levitt has taken the lead role in director Robert Zemeckis’ upcoming narrative take on the story of French high-wire artist Philippe Petit, who christened the newly-built World Trade Center back on August 7, 1974 by tight-rope walking in between the two towers on a taut wire cable. According to the outlet, the Zemeckis iteration is now going by the title To Walk the Clouds (as opposed to the previous To Reach the Clouds).
In 2008, James Marsh directed Man on Wire, a documentary version of the story, which went on to take home an Academy Award.
Zemeckis has co-written the script with Christopher Browne, based on Petit’s memoirs and will produce alongside Starkey and Rapke with Cherylanne Martin as line and exec. producer and ImageMovers’ Jackie Levine also involved.
