It’s been nearly a year since our last post about the untitled Donald Crowhurst movie, but there are plans for it to move forward. In an effort to revitalize his failing business, Crowhurst entered the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, a solo yacht race around the world. Crowhurst had a rough time right from the start, so in order to steer clear of being totally humiliated, he cheated. He reported false positions for months hoping he could slip back into the race down the line without anyone noticing. On June 29, 1969, Crowhurst delivered his last transmission and was never seen or heard from again.
As of November 2013, both Colin Firth and Kate Winslet were in early talks to star in the film, Firth as Crowhurst and Winslet as his wife, Clare. We never got any confirmation that the pair signed on the dotted line, but apparently Firth is still very much attached because while talking about his July 25th release, Woody Allen’s Magic in the Moonlight, Firth told us the Crowhurst movie is aiming to shoot in the spring of 2015 with Man on Wire director James March attached. Hit the jump for more.
Immediately upon mentioning the Crowhurst movie, Firth jumped right in:
“Oh, you know about the Crowhurst film? I love that story. [To Emma Stone] I told you about the sailor. Do you know about Crowhurst?
An astounding story. I don’t know. I feel just a passion for it. I think it’s a wonderful tale. I mean, a heartbreaking, devastating thing. I think it’s not a common story, but I think it’s a far more universal than it looks at first glance.”
When we asked if the film might shoot soon, he told us:
“We hope it’s gonna shoot in the spring of next year. That’s all I can tell you. James Marsh is attached to it, and we’ve had some conversations. Yeah, I’m very, very much looking forward to it. I think it’s amazing stuff - great script.”
So now we’ve got some incredible source material, Scott Z. Burns used it to pen a “great script,” and there’s an Academy Award winning filmmaker on board to bring it to screen. Hopefully this thing really will get off the ground next year.
