Director Tom Tykwer is adapting David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas, and now he has a superstar cast:
Tom Tykwer finally has a cast for his epic of all epic films, Cloud Atlas. Based on David Mitchell’s book of the same title, the movie will star Tom Hanks, Natalie Portman, Halle Berry and James McAvoy in a story that should make The Fountain look like a kid’s movie. In addition to Tykwer’s direction, Cloud Atlas will be produced by the Wachowskis [the Wachowski brothers are best knows for The Matrix series].
Cloud Atlas is told from six distinct points of view, and crosses continents and decades. It was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2004 and praised as a “tour de force” in BookPage by reviewer Becky Ohlsen:
Have you read Cloud Atlas? Do you think it will translate well to the screen? Any thoughts on the cast?
Also in BookPage: Read an interview with Mitchell about Black Swan Green; read a review of his newest novel, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet.
I’m sure this movie will be fascinating, though it seems like a massive undertaking. Here’s hoping Natalie Portman is Luisa Rey, which was my favorite part of the book!
I can see how parts of this book will make a compelling film, but some of it I’m sure will be lost. A huge part of the book seemed to be playing with narrative structure and style and I have a hard time seeing how a single medium (film) will capture that.
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