Shakespeare’s play “Timon of Athens” to get film treatment

PanARMENIAN.Net - Avatar and DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story actor Joel David Moore will reteam with production company Sundial Pictures on an adaptation of Shakespeare’s play Timon of Athens, The Hollywood Reporter reveals.

Moore and Sundial previously worked together on Youth in Oregon, starring Frank Langella, Billy Crudup, Christina Applegate and Josh Lucas. The film will have its world premiere in the Spotlight section of the Tribeca Film Festival Saturday.

The Shakespearean play is set in a semi-dystopian society polarized by drastic economic disparity. It follows a self-made man-turned-social-icon, whose misguided generosity leaves him hunted by the government and a symbol of the revolt against society's elite so quick to abandon him. The play was first produced as early as 1674, and has played throughout the world since including once on Broadway in 1993 and more recently in 2012 at the British National Theatre using modern clothing.

“This is a project that's been ticking in my head for almost a decade,” said Moore. “I studied the play in college, saw it at the Globe in London, and fell in love with its stark social commentary. It's a perfect tale for modern adaptation, and I'm excited to be the first to bring Timon to the big screen.”

Timon of Athens will be Moore's fourth directorial effort and the second collaboration with Stefan Nowicki, Joey Carey and Morgan White of Sundial Pictures.