Colum McCann’s novel Let The Great World Spin is a a series of separate stories about a number of characters around New York at the time Phillippe Petit performed his high-wire stunt in the early 70s (the subject of 2008’s Best Documentary winner Man on Wire). THR is reporting that McCann is writing a screenplay for JJ Abram‘s Bad Robot company to produce. The original novel follows these characters:
- a young Irish monk living among prostitutes in the Bronx.
- a group of mothers mourning their sons, killed in Vietnam, in a Park Avenue apartment.
- a 38-year-old grandmother walking the streets with her teenage daughter.
Here is a video (thanks to /Film) with McCann talking about his inspiration for the film:
My favorite character in the book is not say the tightrope walker at all, he’s just a way to get into the book but it’s like the hooker who is, say, in the Bronx and she’s a 38 year old grandmother by the name of Tilly, also this guy Corrigan who’s an Irish priest. These people who’s not alive somehow come alive for you as an author.
McCann, who is from Dublin, also wrote the screenplay for Gary McKendry’s Everything in this Country Must which nominated for a short film Oscar in 2005. Check out the whole film on his site. If you haven’t seen Man on Wire yet, I highly suggest watching it (it’s available in HD on Netflix Watch Instantly) and you can also view the trailer below.