Director:
Francis Lawrence Writer:
Scott Frank Studio: Columbia Pictures Producers:
Jimmy Miller (via Mosaic Media) Plot: It sees Harry Houdini striving to expose a troubled, beautiful spiritualist as a fraud. As he becomes obsessed with her, he starts to believe she's authentic, only to uncover what appears to be a tragic scam. (24/05/2011 -
THR) Release Date: 2013? (OWF estimate - depends on how easy the script comes together for Frank) Details: Having attempted to make Houdini biopics with filmmakers as varied as Ang Lee, Paul Verhoeven and Robert Zemeckis over the years and failing, director
Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend, Water For Elephants) and producer
Jimmy Miller (The Other Guys) pitched a sentimental biopic of the escape artist/showman in early 2011 and which was
officially announced in March. Skepticism was initially offered when the director of CGI fests
I Am Legend and
Constantine became attached to a film about Houdini but once
Water For Elephants proved to be an old-fashioned, nostalgic romantic hit set in the early 20th century, the attachment didn't sound so strange. The movie could be next for director Lawrence if writer
Scott Frank (Minority Report, Out of Sight, Rise of the Apes) manages to crack the screenplay. He boarded the film on
May 24th, 2011.
Rival Projects;Voices of the Dead - A movie that will team Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini as a dysfunctional crime-fighting duo, one which believes in the spiritualism and one who strives to debunk it! Announced in February 2011.
The Secret Life of Houdini - Summit Entertainment's project would focus on the rumour that the escape artist would moonlight as a British government spy in what would be a secret agent, James Bond/Sherlock Holmes type adventure/action film. No news on this movie since March 2009.