Gary Oldman to write, direct and star in passion project Flying Horse
On the heels of his Oscar-winning portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, Gary Oldman is now reportedly set to direct and star in Flying Horse, a film about Eadweard Muybridge, an English photographer who is renowned for his pioneering work in photographic studies of motion and is widely considered the father of the motion picture. Oldman will also be writing the script for the film.
Oldman is no stranger to the director's chair and had previously directed Nils by Mouth in 1997. The film went on to win two BAFTAs was adj(including one for Best Screenplay), a Channel 4 Director's Award, an Empire Award, andudged by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts as one of the hundred best British films of the 20th century.
According to Deadline, Flying Horse, while chronicling the achievements of Muybridge, will primarily focus on a darker aspect of the photographer's life. Muybridge was doing well for himself in 1872, he was contracted by the former governor of California to capture a horse in motion and that is when his personal life took a tragic turn.
He found that his wife, Flora, was having an affair with Major Harry Larkyns. Enraged, he shot and killed Larkyns but managed to escape imprisonment. He was acquitted in a jury trial on the grounds of justifiable homicide and would continue his groundbreaking work on animal locomotion.
Flying Horse will be produced by Tucker Tooley and Oldman's longtime producing partner Doug Urbanski who received his first BAFTA for Outstanding British Film of The Year for Oldman's Nil By Mouth.
Tooley, whose Tooley Entertainment is financing the film, spoke about Oldman's latest project and said, "This project has been a passion of Gary’s for some time, and I am thrilled to reunite with him to bring this compelling story to the big screen."
Oldman and Urbanski also released a joint statement addressing the film, "We long to make good movies, and that means good stories. And there are few stories as good as these events. Launching the first feature from our newly-formed production company, Flying Studios, with Tucker makes the entire thing very special for us. We could not wish for a more supportive or collaborative partner."