Atonement and Hanna director Joe Wright is in talks to helm one of several movies about Houdini that are being developed right now. The movie he's looking to direct is an adaptation of the book The Secret Life of Houdini, The Making of America's First Superhero written by William Kalush and Larry Sloman. The movie title will be shortened to The Secret Life of Houdini.
The book dives into some interesting details about Houdini saying that he was a British spy, in cahoots with police organizations, and was even asked to be an adviser to Czar Nicholas II's court in prerevolutionary Russia. The movie is set up over at Lionsgate, and they want to make an action-thriller in which Houdini will be portrayed as part Indiana Jones and part Sherlock Holmes. The latest draft of the script was written by Noah Oppenheim.
I love the history of Houdini and his magic, and it would be amazing to see a movie based on his life. This one sounds like it's going to be a little over exaggerated though. As fun as it could turn out, I'm more excited about seeing a movie that plays out like a dramatic biopic. I think Wright is a great choice as a director for the material, and I hope he ends up developing the film project! He seems like a solid storyteller, and I've enjoyed the movies he's made.
What do you think of the idea behind this movie and how do you feel about Wright directing it?
Here's the desctiption of the book the film will be inspired by:
Using exclusive access to newly uncovered archives, Kalush and Sloman reveal the clandestine agreements in which the British and Americans recruited Houdini to be an active secret agent. In exchange for his cooperation, the governments of these two countries facilitated his rise to the top of the world stage. The authors give thrilling accounts of his assignments, such as his participation in early aerial surveillance and his use of his own magic magazine to communicate espionage-related information. After the war, Houdini embarked upon what became his most dangerous mission when he took on the Spiritualist movement. Convinced that Spiritualist mediums were frauds, he became obsessed with exposing them. But the Spiritualists were a powerful adversary. An organized network of fanatics, led by Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle, worked relentlessly to orchestrate a campaign that would silence Houdini forever. Grounded in solid research, but as exciting and dramatic as a good thriller, THE SECRET LIFE OF HOUDINI traces the magician's long and circuitous route from struggling vaudevillian to worldwide legend.