Given Salvador Dali's unique style and reputation for oddness, it’s not really surprising that there would be more than one film out there about legendary surrealist. But while some (including Little Ashes with Robert Pattinson as the artist as a young man) have come and gone, none have had the official stamp of the Gala-Salvador Dali Foundation. Until now, that is. Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer is the man setting up a new biopic.
Writer Paige Cameron pitched an idea for chronicling Dali’s life that got Grazer excited and he’s hired her to bash out the script. And with the Dali Foundation aboard, she’ll have access to archives and private letters to tell the story of his life, work and occasionally stormy marriage to wife Gala.
“The Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation’s interest in a biographical film has always been limited to one that would involve an A-list team,” says managing director Joan Manuel Sevillano. “We are delighted to have this project in the hands of Imagine, a production company whose taste and exacting standards of execution are in keeping with Dalí’s legacy, as well as Paige Cameron, a screenwriter we admire and trust.”
Of course, having the endorsement of the people responsible for your subject’s legacy can sometimes be a double-edged sword. It can slice away the chance to dig into any darker corners, but we’ll have to wait and see what becomes of the project.
There’s no director or cast involved yet. And while the likes of Alan Cumming and Antonio Banderas have been attached to other projects, who do you think would make a good Dali?