You may have heard Ansel Elgort explaining his fondness for music to us in last week’s Podcast (you can listen below if not, or head here for a print version of the interview). He’s now scored a musical role in a new film, signing on to play pianist **Van Cliburn **in the film of the same name.
Andrew Stern is adapting the script from Howard Reich’s eponymous book, which chronicles the true story of American ivory-worrier Cliburn. He appeared seemingly from nowhere in 1958, aged 23, to compete in – and win – the first ever Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow. It was organised by the USSR as a way to trumpet the country’s superiority over America in the wake of Sputnik’s launch, as the nuclear arms race between the countries heated ever further.
But Texas native Cliburn, who had graduated Julliard after years spent learning from his mother, displayed an unorthodox style that won over the judges and the locals. While some tried to have him knocked from the competition, he went on to the finals. He ended up forging better ties between the two superpowers and became a favourite in both, playing for various presidents until he mysteriously stopped performing in 1978. He died last year from bone cancer.
There’s no director attached yet, but whoever takes it on will have an advantage in Elgort, who attended the very school that Fame is based on, and can play the piano already. He’s currently back at work on Divergent sequel Insurgent with fellow Fault In Our Stars lead Shailene Woodley, and will also be seen in Jason Reitman’s Men, Women And Children (though Elgort has suggested that name may change).
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