What film was Daniel Radcliffe's most successful outside of the Harry Potter franchise? Sorry no, it wasn't December Boys. It was The Woman in Black, the haunted house horror directed by James Watkins taking in more than $120M last year and kicking off Radcliffe's post-Hogwarts career in a big way. While neither Radcliffe or Watkins is coming back for the sequel, the two will be working together again on a biopic about rival Olympic athletes.
Watkins will direct Radcliffe in Gold, based on Pat Butcher's book The Perfect Distance and adapted by Slumdog Millionaire writer Simon Beaufoy. Radcliffe will play British Olympic track star Simon Coe, who was embroiled in a fierce rivalry with teammate Steve Ovett in the run-up to the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The competition between both men, and also that of colleague Steve Cram, was integral to the popularity of the sport at the time.
Sounds a lot like Ron Howard's Rush, especially when one considers how different Coe and Ovett were in just about every way. No word on who will co-star but with production gearing up for April we should know very soon. [BBC]
