EXCLUSIVE: Three-time Oscar nominee Ralph Fiennes is reuniting with Conclave producer Tessa Ross and A Bigger Splash backer Studiocanal on Unbeaten, a biopic of legendary British horse racing trainer Henry Cecil and his most famous charge, Frankel.
Fiennes will star as Cecil and serve as executive producer on the film, which is being lined up to shoot next year.
The screenplay from Boardwalk Empire WGA nominee Bash Doran, the consulting producer on Beef, will be directed by BAFTA winner Nora Fingscheidt (System Crasher) with Ross producing for House Productions and Rory Aitken producing for Escapade Pictures. 42 will also produce. Pic has been developed with support from BBC Film and Conclave and The Zone of Interest backer Access Entertainment.
Studiocanal is fully financing the film and will release theatrically in its territories of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Benelux, Australia and New Zealand. Executive producers include Anna Marsh, Ron Halpern and Joe Naftalin for Studiocanal, as well as Fiennes and Doran. Studiocanal is handling worldwide sales.
Cecil, knighted by the Queen in 2011, was one of horse racing’s most recognizable and celebrated global figures, a 10-time champion trainer in the UK. The undefeated Frankel was his most famous horse, winning 10 Group 1 races. Many consider the horse to be the greatest European thoroughbred ever and a rival to U.S. champ Secretariat.
The film will follow the late Cecil’s bittersweet final years as he triumphantly rebuilds his career and life after suffering personal heartbreak, tabloid scandal, health crises and falling out with the industry’s most powerful owner. The relationship with Frankel and rekindling with his third wife Jane McKeown were key to his return to the top of his sport.
Tony Rushmer, author of The Triumph of Henry Cecil: The Authorized Biography, is a consultant on the film.
“I knew nothing about the legendary Henry Cecil until I read Bash Doran’s screenplay,” Fiennes said. “I was compelled and moved by it and by Henry’s story with the great horse Frankel. Henry was — and still is — a unique figure, complex and competitive in the very specific world of horse racing. I’m delighted to be reunited with Tessa Ross (producer) and to be working alongside Rory Aitken (producer) and Studiocanal. I’m particularly excited to be collaborating with Nora Fingscheidt. Her intensely immersive approach and desire for authenticity is inspiring. I was blown away by her film The Outrun.”
The project marks the second collaboration between Berlin Silver Bear winner Fingscheidt and Euro studio Studiocanal following the UK release of BAFTA-nominated The Outrun, starring Saoirse Ronan.
Fiennes is repped by 42 Management and Production, CAA and SOWDLLP. Fingscheidt is with Casarotto Ramsay & Associates, Ilene Feldman Management and Homebase. Doran is repped by UTA, Untitled and Schreck Rose.