Ralph Fiennes has joined the cast of The White Crow, his project about Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev.  Fiennes will play Nureyev’s teacher and mentor, Pushkin, who helped launch Nureyev’s career out of St Petersburg, and will also direct the feature.

As previously reported, professional dancer Oleg Ivenko will play the lead role of Nureyev.  Fellow dancer Sergei Polunin, Blue Is The Warmest Colour star Adèle Exarchopoulos and Russian actress Chulpan Khamatova are among the cast.

The production has also attached Elle star Laurent Lafitte, The French Minister star Raphaël Personnaz, Personal Shopper actor Calypso Valois and Land Of Mine star Louis Hofmann in time for its summer 2017 shoot.  Locations include St Petersburg, Paris, the Mariinsky Theatre and the Palais Garnier.

Book To Film

Two-time Oscar-nominee David Hare (The Hours, The Reader) has adapted the screenplay from Julie Kavanagh’s book Rudolf Nureyev.  The iconic dancer’s famed defection is charted in the book.  Ultimately, he was able to leave the Soviet Union and go to the West, despite KGB efforts to stop him.

BBC Films is developing the film and Gabrielle Tana is producing.  She recently produced the documentary Dancer, about prodigal talent Sergei Polunin.  Tana will produce through Magnolia Mae Productions alongside former Pathé executive François Ivernel (The Iron Lady) under his banner Montebello Productions.  Joe Oppenheimer and Beth Pattinson are the executive producers for BBC Films.

Crew include costume designer Madeline Fontaine (Jackie), DoP Mike Eley (Marley),  and composer Ilan Eshkeri (Dancer).  Igor Zelensky. artistic director at the Novosibirsk Theatre of Opera and Ballet, will oversee the classical choreography.  Tony Award winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon (An American In Paris) in charge of special choreography.  HanWay Films is handling sales and will be shopping the project in Cannes.

Simon Beresford at Dalzell & Beresford, Bryan Lourd and Joel Lubin at CAA represent Mr. Fiennes.