Court Five’s Jane Fleming and Mark Ordesky will produce a feature film adaptation of the popular short film “The Butterfly Circus.”
The film, unveiled in 2009, has been streamed 40 million times and continues to grow by one million views monthly with three dozen festival awards. Fans have subtitled and dubbed “The Butterfly Circus” into 25 languages.
As with the short film, the feature project is written by Josh and Rebekah Weigel and will be directed by Josh Weigel. The Weigels will also produce with Court Five.
“The Butterfly Circus” centers on a renowned circus troupe traveling through the devastated American landscape at the height of the Great Depression. When the circus discovers a man without limbs being exploited at a carnival sideshow, he decides to join the troupe.
The short film starred motivational speaker Nick Vujicic, who was born without arms or legs.
“The Butterfly Circus is a magical exploration of the transformative power of hope, love and redemption,” Ordesky and Fleming said. “Its vast global audience of fans, which includes the faith and values community that so strongly supported films like ‘Unbroken’ and ‘The Blind Side,’ creates a powerful foundation for the feature almost unheard of for a film not based on a best-selling book or established brand.”
Casting is underway with the filmmakers planning to start shooting in late 2015.
“It’s been so rewarding to hear how the story is resonating and bringing encouragement to people of all ages and walks of life,” said Rebekkah Weigl. “I believe people are longing for stories that bring hope.”
Fleming and Ordesky both worked at New Line with Ordesky executive producing “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. The duo are executive producers on the ABC series “The Quest.”
Josh Weigel is represented by CAA and Kevin Marks at Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown.
