Universal Pictures are apparently looking at Ryan Gosling for their planned Neil Armstrong biopic that Whiplash‘s Damien Chazelle is set to direct. The two collaborated on the 2016 release La La Land, and hope to reunite for the biopic about the legendary first man on the moon.
The film will be titled First Man, and will be based on the book “First Man: A Life Of Neil A. Armstrong” by James Hansen. Spotlight’s Josh Singer will adapt the screenplay.
Here’s a little about the book, a New York Times bestseller, from Amazon.
When Apollo 11 touched down on the moon’s surface in 1969, the first man on the moon became a legend. In First Man, Hansen explores the life of Neil Armstrong. Based on over fifty hours of interviews with the intensely private Armstrong, who also gave Hansen exclusive access to private documents and family sources, this “magnificent panorama of the second half of the American twentieth century” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) is an unparalleled biography of an American icon.
Upon his return to earth, Armstrong was honored and celebrated for his monumental achievement. He was also—as James R. Hansen reveals in this fascinating and important biography—misunderstood. Armstrong’s accomplishments as engineer, test pilot, and astronaut have long been a matter of record, but Hansen’s unprecedented access to private documents and unpublished sources and his interviews with more than 125 subjects (including more than fifty hours with Armstrong himself) yield this first in-depth analysis of an elusive American celebrity still renowned the world over.
Gosling next stars in The Big Short and then heads to shoot Blade Runner 2 for Denis Villeneuve. We’re guessing that if he takes First Man, he’ll shoot it right after the Blade Runner sequel.
More news as we get it.
