Here’s some fun news: The director of a beloved children’s franchise and the actor who plays a beloved superhero have teamed up on a biopic about one of the most beloved Hollywood actors of all time. That’s right, Paul King will direct Tom Holland in a movie about Fred Astaire.
Astaire was a singing and dancing actor who appeared in classic films such as Top Hat and The Gay Divorcee with Ginger Rogers, and Funny Face with Audrey Hepburn during the golden age of cinema from the 1930s through ’50s. Holland was already attached to the project, but the inclusion of King means the project is clipping along at a healthy pace.
With Holland and King together, we’ll hopefully get a measured and wholesome biopic. The movie apparently revolves around Astaire’s relationship with his sister Adele and their years as a travelling vaudeville duo. While his sister was the face of the act, Fred eventually eclipsed her, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The duo broke up when Adele got married, and while it devastated Fred, it gave him the push he needed to focus on Hollywood and his immaculate dancing skills. It worked out pretty well for him, as Astaire became incredibly rich and famous.
Others involved with the movie include producers Amy Pascal, Rachael O’Conner, Ben Holden and Josh Hyams. The original script was written by Noah Pink and is being re-written by Lee Hall, who worked with Holland in Billy Elliot: The Musical.
Ironically, Jamie Bell, the actor who played Billy Elliot in the movie, is starring in a different Astaire movie for Amazon, with Margaret Qualley as Ginger Rogers.
Hall also wrote Rocketman and War Horse, and he was nominated for an Academy Award for writing Billy Elliot. King recently finished filming Wonka, an adaptation of the classic book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. No title or release date yet for the Astaire movie, but we’ll keep you posted.
