Sixteen years ago, author and Ludwig Van colleague Norman Lebrecht optioned the filming rights to his award-winning first novel, “Song Of Names” (2004). After years of speculation, and whispers of developments, it has been confirmed that production on the film and will officially start shooting in London on Monday.
The film will star Tim Roth (Pulp Fiction) and Clive Owen (Children of Men), Catherine McCormack (Braveheart), Jonah Hauer King (Little Women) and Gerran Howell (Genius), and be directed by Canadian François Girard (The Red Violin).
If that weren’t impressive enough, the screenplay has been adapted by Jeffrey Caine (The Constant Gardener, GoldenEye), and will be co-produced by Academy Award-nominated producer Robert Lantos (Ararat, Crash) Lyse Lafontaine (On the Road), and Nick Hirschkorn, and Viktoria Petranyi.
In a statement, Lebrecht said we was “particularly pleased that the driving forces are Canadian — Robert Lantos … and François Girard, who has been living and breathing this story for a good couple of years. Not to mention Howard Shore, whose score is terrific. So I’m breakfasting daily on maple syrup — and they’re promising me a cameo in Budapest next month.”
Coupled with a story about the disappearance of a violin prodigy, and backed by a stellar cast and crew, this film has Oscar contender written all over it.
Girard describes the project as a “remarkable cinematic journey of The Song Of Names, which brings us back to the darkest page of the Twentieth Century’s history. Walking the grounds of the Treblinka Memorial, I found my true motivation for this project. I am committed to making my small contribution to the fight against historical amnesia.”
“The Song Of Names is a story that must be told,” described Lantos to the Screen Daily. “In an original and emotionally compelling way, through a musical composition, the film drives home two of the most important words in my vocabulary: Never Forget.”
Filming locations include London, Budapest, Treblinka, Montreal and New York.
We can’t imagine a most promising start to a film and are delighted to see Lebrecht’s incredible story take shape. Expect the film to hit theatres in 2020.