Philippe Petit balancing the Oscar on his chin.
For #throwbackthursday, we’re featuring the documentary, MAN ON WIRE. If you haven’t seen it, the film is currently streaming on Hulu.
Directed by James Marsh, MAN ON WIRE is based on To Reach The Clouds: My High Wire Walk Between The Twin Towers by part time HV resident, Philippe Petit.
The story follow a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit, who on August 7, 1974, stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between the World Trade Center's twin towers in New York.
The film received a Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and went on to win Best Documentary at the 2009 Academy Awards.
Philippe Petit explaining how he prepared
“I had the pleasure of hearing Philippe read the first two chapters of the book that the doc is based on back in 2001,” recalls film commission executive director Laurent Rejto. “The reading was held at Valerie Fanarjian’s home in Boiceville. Valerie was one of his wire riggers and she also worked closely with the film commission. We were all mesmerized at the reading. Eight years later, another mutual friend, Lisa Myers, was tasked by Philippe to create an item that could mimic an Oscar Statue. This allowed Petit to practice balancing the item on his chin in the event the film won. It was a lot of fun watching the Oscars with Lisa that year, and seeing how her bowling pin version came in handy.”
In 2014, To Reach The Clouds was adapted as THE WALK, by the legendary Robert Zemeckis.
As a boy, Philippe Petit dreams of performing daring feats for dazzled crowds. As an adult, his life's ambition comes true when he becomes a high-wire artist who stares death in the face with every step. Under the guidance of mentor Papa Rudy, the French daredevil devises a plan to walk on a tightrope attached to the north and south towers of the World Trade Center. With help from his team and against all odds, Petit attempted the seemingly impossible stunt on Aug. 7, 1974.
The film was primarily produced in Canada but the Hudson Valley Film Commission had a hand in recommending a place where Philippe Petit could train the person who would portray him in the film, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. As a result, trained at Tech City in the Town of Ulster. Other scenes involved Gordon-Levitt's tightrope walking body double and CGI face-replacement technology. For a short clip with Levitt, Petit and Zemeckis at https://youtu.be/yXtgDfE3VSY
Robert Zemeckis is considered one of the premier American directors. His credits include Forrest Gump, Cast Away, The Back To The Future trilogy, and Welcome To Marwen, which was inspired by Marwencol, a documentary about another Hudson Valley resident Mark Hogancamp.
