Three-time Academy Award nominee Leonardo DiCaprio and five-time Oscar nominee Kate Winslet have been signed by DreamWorks Studios to star in Revolutionary Road to be directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes, it was announced today by Stacey Snider, Co-Chairman and CEO.
Revolutionary Road will be the first time DiCaprio and Winslet have worked together since the 1997 all-time box office hit and Oscar winning Titanic. Based on the celebrated novel by Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road is a heartrending story of thwarted passion and the search for fulfillment. A young couple find themselves caught between their own desires and the pressure to conform, with explosive consequences.
Justin Haythe has written the screenplay based on Richard Yates’ 1961 novel. Production will begin this summer with Paramount handling worldwide distribution.
John N. Hart, Scott Rudin, Bobby Cohen, and Mendes will produce in association with BBC Films.
Revolutionary Road was Richard Yates’ first novel and earned immediate acclaim. For two generations, it has continued to be a seminal landmark book. It not only achieved this special status among readers but by other writers who recognized its impact and story-telling skill. It was a finalist for the prestigious National Book Award and was named one of the Top 100 Novels on Time magazine’s All-Time list.
“This is an extraordinary combination of three very special talents who represent the best in motion pictures. We are very fortunate to bring Leo, Kate, and Sam together to tell a story that can reflect the excellence that audiences around the world expect of them,” said Adam Goodman, President of Production at DreamWorks.
“Having bought the rights to the book and developed it with John Hart, we could not be more delighted at the way this film has come together,” said David Thompson, Head of BBC Films. “This is an extraordinary story with wide international appeal and resonance. To be working with the best and brightest talent from both sides of the Atlantic is particularly exciting.”
“As one of the most venerated post-war American novels, it is both fitting and thrilling that it’s come together with this extraordinary group of artists,” said Rudin, whose company, Scott Rudin Productions, produced 5 films last year, three of which (The Queen, Notes on a Scandal and Venus) garnered 11 Academy Award nominations and one win for Helen Mirren as Best Actress.
DiCaprio most recently starred in Blood Diamond, for which he received an Academy Award nomination, and in this year’s Best Picture Oscar winner, The Departed. He received his other Oscar nominations for his roles in The Aviator and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. This will be his second film for DreamWorks having previously starred in the Steven Spielberg directed Catch Me If You Can.
Winslet was also honored with an Academy Award nomination this year for her role in Little Children. Her previous nominations were for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Iris, Titanic, and Sense and Sensibility.
Mendes has a long history with DreamWorks, having directed his first feature for the studio, Best Picture Oscar winner, American Beauty. Mendes received an Oscar and Golden Globe for his direction on American Beauty, as well as the Directors Guild of America’s award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures. He also directed Road to Perdition for the studio and is currently producing two films for DreamWorks – Things We Lost in the Fire and The Kite Runner, both of which will be released later this year.
