I had to back check into the filmmaker’s filmography to verify whether one of the the 21st centuries’ best documentarians had even come close to making a fictional feature film project. Apart from a style that re-constructs the events, the answer is a definite no. Errol Morris is climbing on a project that at the core is based on factoids, but Zach Helm from Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium and Stranger Than Fiction fame was hired to put a narrative spin to the project.
Variety reports that Morris will direct the dark comedy inspired by both Robert F. Nelson’s memoir “We Froze the First Man” and a story that aired on NPR’s “This American Life” this week titled “You’re as Cold as Ice.” (To listen to the episode that hired exactly one year ago click here). The true story centers on Nelson, a TV repairman who in the 1960s joined a group of enthusiasts who believed they could cheat death with a new technology: cryonics. But freezing dead people so scientists could reanimate them in the future turned out to be harder than Nelson thought.
Mandate Pictures and Steve Zaillian’s Film Rites are the principle backers for the pic — This American Life’s” Ira Glass and Alissa Shipp also join, while Gang of Two’s Jim Garavente and Helm exec produce alongside Mandate’s Nathan Kahane. Film Rites’ Garrett Basch brought in the project and will co-produce with Mandate’s Tendo Nagenda.
