Maven Pictures’ Trudie Styler and Celine Rattray have come onboard to produce the screen adaptation of Colum McCann’s ballet story “Dancer.”
Davide Azzolini will produce along with Maven.
“Dancer” is the story of Russian dancer Rudolph Nureyev, who was born during WWII, defected at the age of 23 and became one of the best known dancers in the world before dying of AIDS in 1992.
“It’s a moving tale — one that really fits with Maven’s commitment to stories with riveting characters,” said Styler and Rattray.
McCann’s book imagines Nureyev’s story from the perspectives of those who knew him. The tale follows Nureyev throughout his life, from a 6-year-old making his first dancing appearance, for wounded soldiers, to a brash young man leaving his family to study in Leningrad to a dance world sensation traveling Europe.
“Dancer” received the Hughes & Hughes Irish Novel of the Year Award. McCann was the recipient of the National Book Award for his 2009 novel “Let the World Spin.”
Maven currently has “Filt” and “Imogene” in post-production. Azzolini just finished producing the documentary “Enzo Avitabile Music Life,” directed by Jonathan Demme.
