Universal’s Leonardo da Vinci Film to Be Directed by ‘All of Us Strangers’ Helmer Andrew Haigh (EXCLUSIVE)
Universal Pictures has found its director for the high-priority Leonardo da Vinci film. “All of Us Strangers” helmer Andrew Haigh has signed on to direct and adapt Walter Isaacson’s acclaimed biography of the Renaissance man.
Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Isaacson’s book became one of the hottest literary properties when it hit the market in 2017. At the time, Universal was outbid by Paramount, which developed the project with Leonardo DiCaprio for years before putting it in turnaround. Universal quietly picked it up last year. The runaway bestseller connects da Vinci’s transcendent art, which includes the Mona Lisa painting hanging in the Louvre, to his trailblazing science — and shows how his genius was driven by an insatiable curiosity, careful observation and a whimsical imagination. The Italian icon lived from 1452-1519 during the height of the Renaissance, one of the most creative spurts in human history.
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Christopher Hampton wrote a previous version of the screenplay.
Haigh is an award-winning British writer-director, whose critically acclaimed 2023 film “All of Us Strangers” from Searchlight Pictures received six BAFTA nominations including best director and best adapted screenplay for Haigh. “All of Us Strangers” also landed three Independent Spirit Awards nominations. His previous films include A24’s “Lean on Pete” and IFC’s “45 Years,” for which Charlotte Rampling nabbed a best actress Academy Award nomination. After his breakout debut in 2011 with “Weekend,” Haigh also worked in TV, serving as an executive producer as well as the lead writer-director on HBO’s “Looking.” He also directed all five episodes of the 2012 limited series “The North Water” for BBC and AMC.
The da Vinci film marks Universal’s second adaptation of an Isaacson book. The studio also brought his 2011 biography “Steve Jobs” to the big screen with Danny Boyle at the helm.
Universal’s senior VP of production development Ryan Jones will oversee the project on behalf of the studio.
Haigh is repped by CAA, Anonymous Content and the Agency (London) Ltd. Isaacson is handled by CAA.
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