Amy director Asif Kapada will helm the Rolls Royce origins drama Silver Ghost from producers Martin Scorsese and Anthony Haas.
The project will be a co-production between Scorsese’s Sikelia Productions and Zuma Productions. “Silver Ghost” is set at the turn of the 20th Century, and traces the story of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce founding the iconic British motor company.
Zuma Prods. was established by Haas and the late Richard Attenborough to produce “Silver Ghost.” Atteborough died in 2014.
Kapadia is nominated with James Gay-Rees for an Academy Award for best documentary for the Amy Winehouse biopic Amy.
His 2010 doc “Senna,” on Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna, won the BAFTA award for top documentary.
“What struck me when I read ‘Silver Ghost’ was how this true story weaves together the lives of five remarkable people that changed the destiny of the Western world and I am delighted to be working together with the legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese and Anthony Haas to bring it to the screen,” Kapadia said.
Scorsese is currently in post-production on “Silence,” starring Liam Neeson, Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield. The movie follows Jesuit priests in 17th Century Japan.
He’s also producing the upcoming HBO series Vinyl.
“I’ve been captivated by the story of ‘Silver Ghost’ ever since Lord Richard Attenborough came to me with the project, and I’m thrilled that we’re going to be seeing it through,” he said. “It’s a project that requires a great and innovative storyteller, and that’s exactly what we have with Asif Kapadia.”
Thursday’s announcement did not indicate when production will start.
“When Richard Attenborough was asked how he would like to be remembered, he replied ‘as a storyteller,’” said Haas. “Asif also knows how to tell a deeply personal and epic story and ‘Silver Ghost’ is an amazing untold tale of the highs and lows of what makes us human.”
