Celebrated director, Ron Howard, has signed on to direct a biopic about the life of Lang Lang, a world-renowned Chinese pianist. Lang Lang, at only 38, has a decorated legacy and has risen to international fame playing with the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, and many of America's top orchestras. On the film side, Howard is an iconic director who has lead some of the most iconic movies in Hollywood history, including The DaVinci Code, Apollo 13, and Grand Theft Auto.
In an announcement with The Wrap, Lang Lang's biopic, under Howard's direction, will be based on the narrative in his memoir, Journey of a Thousand Miles, where the pianist recounts the story of his humble beginnings in Northern China to his rise to fame through his studies under Gary Graffman. The project is currently untitled but is being fully funded by Stuart Ford's AGC Studios. They also announced that Howard plans to shoot the biopic in both China and the U.S. and will feature have Mandarin and English.
Howard will begin the biopic project after he completed his upcoming film, Thirteen Lives, for MGM. Lang Lang spoke on Howard's involvement on the project, saying: "Dream big, work hard, and always believe in yourself. This movie, thanks to Ron Howard's vision, will inspire young people around the world to follow their dreams and never forget they are one in a million."
Lang Lang's life story is not Howard's first time directing a biopic about world-famous musicians. Recently, in 2019 Howard released Pavorotti, which was a beautiful retelling the life of internationally beloved opera singer Luciano Pavarotti. Additionally, Howard has directed a documentary about the Beatles touring years called The Beatles: Eight Days a Week, and in 2012 he released a 3D autobiographical doc about Katy Perry. With his decorated history in both fictional features and documentaries, Ron Howard is sure to do justice to the heartfelt and inspirational story of the sensational pianist Lang Lang.
Source: The Wrap