Akiva Goldsman, the Oscar-winning screenwriter behind such noteworthy dramas as A Beautiful Mind and I Am Legend, has been working hard to make the leap to film director. It was a nearly a year ago that news broke declaring Warner Bros. had greenlit Goldsman's adaptation of Mark Heprin's magical-realism novel Winter's Tale. Yet since then the film has been mired in development. Last fall, Goldsman attempted to forge ahead, delving into the casting process despite reports that the film's funding was not secured. At that time, A Beautiful Mind's Oscar-nominated leading man, Russell Crowe, was rumored to be attached, though without firm funding in place, nothing seemed certain about Goldman's passion project.
However, Vulture has now revealed Crowe has in fact signed on to Winter's Tale, and so has I Am Legendstar Will Smith. The A-listers will play supporting roles in the fantasy-fueled drama, as a favor to Goldsman. While it might not seem like much for each to offer a few shoot days to the screenwriter who helped garner each major acclaim, this favor has in fact saved Winter's Tale from stalling out altogether. Well that in conjunction with a new budget, wherein Goldsman has cut $20 million of Warner Bros.'s costs.
The film is set to center on the unconventional love story between a blue-collar mechanic and an invalid heiress. This odd couple's meet-cute occurs when the former attempts to rob the home of the latter in a desperate bid for some quick cash. The story moves between nineteenth-century and present-day Manhattan, and also includes a merciless gangster and a flying white horse. Crowe is committed to play the gangster, who has the weirdly perverse name Pearly Soames, while Smith is expected to appear as a judge. As to who could play the star-crossed lovers, Goldman's shown interest in Tom Hiddleston (Thor), Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), Bella Heathcote (In Time), Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Gabriele Wilde (Three Musketeers) and Sarah Gadon (A Dangerous Method).
With shooting set to begin next fall, there will be plenty of time for speculation on who will take on this Winter's Tale.
