PanARMENIAN.Net -
James
Ponsoldt is preparing to move from one author to another, as the filmmaker
behind the David Foster Wallace movie “The End of the Tour” is in negotiations
to direct the F. Scott Fitzgerald biopic “West of Sunset” for Sidney Kimmel
Entertainment, TheWrap has learned.
Ponsoldt, who made waves in
2013 with his YA drama “The Spectacular Now,” is planning to tackle the “Great
Gatsby” author, who arrived in Hollywood in 1937 hoping to parlay his success
into a screenwriting career, though he ultimately died just three years later.
Stewart O’Nan wrote the
novelized biography, which jumps between Fitzgerald’s days as a famous author
who called Ernest Hemingway a friend, and those he spent toiling away on the
MGM lot where he met Hollywood stars such as Humphrey Bogart.
SKE is nearing a deal to option
the book, which Ponsoldt plans to adapt to direct when he comes up for the air.
The acclaimed filmmaker is also prepping the Tom Hanks movie “The Circle,”
based on the novel by Dave Eggers.
Sidney Kimmel will produce
“West of Sunset,” while SKE’s Carla Hacken will executive produce.
Judging by “The End of the
Tour,” Ponsoldt is the perfect filmmaker for a movie about Fitzgerald, who was
just as complicated, troubled and brilliant as Wallace. “Tour,” which A24
releases in July, is one of the best films ever made about writing and the
nature of writers. The art of writing, as well as the love of reading, can be
difficult to dramatize onscreen, but with the help of playwright Donald
Margulies and strong performances from Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg,
Ponsoldt pulls it off and makes it look easy.
“The Circle” may be shaping up
to be Ponsoldt’s next project, but “West of Sunset” is just as exciting as the
other biopic that Ponsoldt is attached to direct — “Rodham,” the movie about a
young Hillary Rodham Clinton.
