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A Soldier of the Great War
Norton goes off to 'War'Cohen to exec produce for MiramaxBy BENEDICT CARVER, BILL HIGGINSVariety.com, March 25,1999The Rounders team of star Edward Norton, writers David Levien and Brian Koppelman and financier/distrib Miramax Films will deal their next hand with A Soldier of the Great War. Norton, who received a best actor nomination for his perf in New Line Cinema’s American History X, will produce "Soldier" with Levien and Koppelman. Former Miramax exec Bobby Cohen will exec produce. The film will be based on the novel by Mark Helprin, author of Winter’s Tale and Ellis Island & Other Stories, among others. Pic concerns a 70ish Italian professor who’s an ex-war hero. Encountering a young illiterate factory worker on a lonely road, he recounts his WWI experiences, during which he confronted various lovers, madmen and Mafiosi. Levien and Koppelman will begin work on the screenplay this year, with production slated for sometime in 2000. Miramax is likely to bring another heavyweight producer on board the project once it is nearer to production. The book is a personal favorite of Norton’s. He and the writers discussed it on the set of Miramax’s Rounders. After production wrapped, Levien and Koppelman approached Helprin and told him that they were interested in a feature. The author gave them a two-month window in which to set up the project. The duo made Norton a partner, and the actor approached Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein. Weinstein and senior VP of production Cohen - who last week segued into a production deal at the studio - read the book and agreed. Cohen and Miramax senior VP of business and legal affairs Steven Hutensky negotiated for their company. Levien and Koppelman are working on the gangster pic Knockaround Guys for New Line. They were repped by Endeavor, manager Seth Jaret and attorney Karl Austen. Norton is next set to make his producing and directing debut for Spyglass Entertainment on the comedy-romance Keeping the Faith, starring Ben Stiller, Norton and Jenna Elfman. He will appear opposite Brad Pitt in Fox 2000’s The Fight Club. Norton was repped by Endeavor.  Buy
A Soldier of the Great War or
other books by Mark Helprin though Amazon.com
NOTE: Here is the Reuters version of the same article. It reports that Norton will also star in the movie- this was released prematurely, but will most likely happen. Norton goes off to ``War''By Benedict Carver and Bill Higgins, Thursday March 25 8:19 PM ETHOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Actor Edward Norton liked the Mark Helprin novel ``A Soldier of the Great War'' so much that he will star in and produce a feature version. Norton, who received a best actor nomination this year for his performance in ``American History X,'' joined forces with the screenwriters of his 1998 film ``Rounders'' to set the project up at Miramax Films. Production is slated to begin next year. The picture concerns a 70-something Italian professor who's an ex-war hero. Encountering a young illiterate factory worker on a lonely road, he recounts his WWI experiences, during which he confronted various lovers, madmen and Mafiosi. Helprin also wrote ``Winter's Tale'' and ``Ellis Island & Other Stories.'' The book is a personal favorite of Norton's. During filming on Miramax's ``Rounders,'' he discussed it with that film's screenwriters, David Levien and Brian Koppelman. After production wrapped, Levien and Koppelman approached Helprin and told him that they were interested in a feature. The author gave them a two-month window in which to set up the project. Norton came aboard as a partner and pitched it to Miramax. Norton is next set to make his producing and directing debut on the comedy-romance ``Keeping the Faith,'' in which he will star with Ben Stiller and Jenna Elfman. He will star with Brad Pitt in Fox's ``The Fight Club,'' which opens in July. Reuters/Variety Flatbroke's NoteLevien and Koppelman conducted an interview with Edward Norton for Jane
magazine entitled "Edward Norton is the star of our movie". The interview was published before this
announcement was made (September 1998- for the release of Rounders) and in it they briefly talk about a quote from A Soldier
of the Great War. The article is very short- one page including photos - but it is interesting.
Take a look at the interview.
Background by Hee Yun's Graphics If you have new information on Edward Norton (and you can provide a
verifiable and reputable source), please email me-
Susan Note: Articles and images have been posted without permission for noncommercial and nonprofit use
with no intention of copyright infringement. The purpose of this reprinting is to disseminate correct information about the
actors, films, and studios. I have included author names and links to sources whenever possible.
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