“Atonement” and “Anna Karenina” filmmaker Joe Wright is reportedly in discussions with Lionsgate-Summit about directing their controversial Harry Houdini biopic “Houdini” says The Los Angeles Times.
The film is based on William Kalush and Larry Sloman’s 2006 biography of the famed illusionist, a book that has become famous for insinuating that Houdini acted as a spy for Britain when he was asked to be an adviser to Czar Nicholas II’s court in pre-revolutionary Russia.
The book also portrayed him as a debunker of con artist spiritualists, leading to the controversial theory that Houdini’s death was caused by the spiritual movement as payback.
Noah Oppenheim penned the script adaptation which turns the book into an action thriller. “The Hunger Games” helmer Gary Ross entered discussions earlier this year to direct. He soon departed and has opted to tackle “Peter and the Starcatchers” instead.