Asif Kapadia, a current Oscar nominee for the Amy Winehouse documentary Amy (along with James Gay-Rees), has been tapped to direct Silver Ghost. The story is set at the turn of the 20th century and centers on Charles Rolls and Henry Royce, the co-founders of the luxury British motor company which produced the Rolls Royce.
The project was first unveiled in 2012 and is produced by Anthony Haas via Zuma Productions (which was established by Haas and the late Sir Richard Attenborough specifically to produce Silver Ghost) and Martin Scorsese via his Sikelia Productions. A veteran filmmaker, Scorcese won the 2007 Best Director Oscar (The Departed), received seven other Oscar nominations for Best Directing, and one Oscar nomination for adapted screenplay. He most recently directed Silence which is currently in post-production, starring Liam Neeson (Taken 3), Adam Driver (Star Wars:The Force Awakens) and Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man).
According to Variety, Kapadia said about his newest project,
“What struck me when I read Silver Ghost was how this true story weaves together the lives of five remarkable people that changed the destiny of the Western world and I am delighted to be working together with the legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese and Anthony Haas to bring it to the screen.”
According to Scorsese, “I’ve been captivated by the story of Silver Ghost ever since Lord Richard Attenborough came to me with the project, and I’m thrilled that we’re going to be seeing it through. It’s a project that requires a great and innovative storyteller, and that’s exactly what we have with Asif Kapadia.”
Haas added, “When Richard Attenborough was asked how he would like to be remembered, he replied ‘as a storyteller,’ Asif also knows how to tell a deeply personal and epic story and Silver Ghost is an amazing untold tale of the highs and lows of what makes us human.”
Kapadia’s 2010 documentary, Senna, about Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna, won the BAFTA award for top documentary. The British-born director most recently completed Ali and Nino, a love story between a Muslim boy and a Christian girl set in the early 1900s. The film was an adaptation of the epic novel by Kurban Said.
There is no word yet on when production will start on Silver Ghost, but we will keep you posted.
Leave a Comment