What do we know about Billy Wilder's film biography?
“Billy Wilder & Me” is based on the novel by Jonathan Coe. The screenplay was written by Oscar-winner Christopher Hampton for Stephen Frears' Dangerous Liaisons and Florian Zeller's The Father. Filming is scheduled to begin in early 2025 in Greece.
The film takes place in 1977, when the legendary director, played by Christoph Waltz, was working on the melodrama “Fedora.” Meeting him changes the life of Calista (Maya Hawke), a young woman involved in the production. Jon Hamm will be played by actor William Holden, who played one of the main roles in the movie “Fedora.” In turn, John Turturro played IAL Diamond, a screenwriter who collaborated with Wilder on films such as “Love in the Afternoon,” “Half Joke, Half Seriously” and “The Suite.”
What is the Fedora theme? Watch the trailer
“Fedora” is the story of a Hollywood producer (William Holden) who wants to convince his former lover, movie star Phaedra (Marthi Keller), to return to the big screen. Watch the trailer:
Who was Billy Wilder?
Billy Wilder was born in 1906 in the town of Sosha, which at that time was located in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (today Sosha-Pieskidzka in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship). The first films, including The Sunday People and The Man Looking for a Killer, were made with Robert Siodmak and filmed in Germany. However, after Hitler came to power, he had to leave the country. In the United States, he quickly became one of the most respected directors and screenwriters. The films “The Lost Weekend”, “Sunset Boulevard” and “The Suite” brought him Oscars. His accomplishments include film noir classics (“Double Indemnity”) and war dramas (“Stalag 17”). However, his greatest fame came through comedies with Audrey Hepburn (“Sabrina”, “Love in the Afternoon”) and Marilyn Monroe (“The Straw Widower”, “Half Jokingly, Half Seriously”). His filmography ends with the comedy “Best Buddy” starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.
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