Biopic of ballet icon on the way.
Screen Daily is reporting that Maven Pictures principals, Trudie Styler and Celine Rattray, are teaming with Italian producer Davide Azzolini to bring life of the Russian ballet icon Rudolf Nureyev to the big screen.
The film will be based on Colum McCann’s bestselling 2003 novel ‘Dancer’ and will detail Nureyev’s event-filled life. Born in Russia during WWII, Nureyev defected to the West in 1961 and went on to achieve international stardom both on and off stage. The star died in 1993 at the age of 54 from an AIDS-related illness.
In a statement, Styler and Rattray said, “The opportunity to work with Colum on this project has been a dream of ours. It’s a moving tale – one that really fits with Maven’s commitment to stories with riveting characters.”
Azzolini added, “As I read the novel for the first time many years ago, I realized the extraordinary visual potential in it and I immediately started talking with Colum about how to turn it into a film.”