Billy Zane announces premiere of Marlon Brando biopic

Posted On October 31, 2024October 31, 2024

Actor Billy Zane is set to appear at the Torino Film Festival in Italy next month as the Marlon Brando biopic, Waltzing With Brando, get a premiere date. After a five year long creation process, with Zane first being interviewed about the role in 2019, it is finally opening up to public viewing.

Waltzing With Brando looks at the iconic American actor Marlon Brando during a crucial period in his career. After first breaking into Hollywood in the 1950s with his roles in A Streetcar Named Desire, On The Waterfront and Julius Caesar, Brandon’s career was in need of a revival by the 1970s.

Thankfully, that opportunity came from Francis Ford Coppola, who cast Brando as Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather. After that, he took on the role of Paul in Last Tango in Paris. Between those two movies, he reignited his passion for work and reminded the world of his talent. 

Waltzing With Brando focuses on the actor’s preparation for those two roles. It’s also based on the memoir, Waltzing with Brando: Planning a Paradise in Tahiti, which was written by the actor’s architect Bernard Judge who worked closely with Brando during the period.

The memoir tells the story of how Brando convinced Judge, an idealistic architect with a stable and normal life, to build the world’s first ecologically perfect retreat on a tiny, uninhabitable island. 

How long has Billy Zane been preparing to play Marlon Brando?

Back in 2019, when he first spoke about the role, Zane discussed Judge’s story and the context surrounding this moment in Brando’s career. The actor said to Entertainment Weekly that he wasn’t previously “aware of his passion for environmental rights, which was so prescient and so timely” but now felt it was an honour to “celebrate the man for being a forward-thinker” and was “interested in teaching people about him in a way that they’re not familiar while still mining the drama.”

The biopic has now been announced as the closing film for the Torino Film Festival which runs from November 22nd until November 30th in the Italian city. The festival is celebrating the centennial of Marlon Brando’s birth this year by hosting a 24-title retrospective of his career and work, showing his old films alongside this new take on the actor’s life.

Furthermore, Zane is planning to make the journey to present the film at the premiere in person. Best known for his roles in Titanic, Zoolander and many other flicks, Zane has also worked with some of history’s most-notable directors like James Cameron, David Lynch and more.

Related Topics