“Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” breakout Tom Blyth has found his next starring role in a new film adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s seminal novel “A Farewell to Arms.”
Directed and written by Michael Winterbottom (“Welcome to Sarajevo,” “Wonderland”), the film stars Blyth as protagonist Frederic Henry, a young volunteer ambulance driver for the Italian Army during World War I who gets wounded and falls in love with his nurse. Produced by Fremantle, Revolution Films and Passenger, “A Farewell to Arms” is set to start shooting in Italy later next year.
Published in 1929, Hemingway’s “A Farewell to Arms” is considered one of the greatest war novels of the 20th century and made the author a household name. based on Hemingway’s own experience serving as an ambulance driver in Italy during WWI, the book is both an unflinching account of the atrocities of war and a dramatic love story. It has been adapted for the big screen twice before, in 1932 and 1957, and has also served as the basis for a stage play and 1966 miniseries.
“Hemingway believed in paring a story down to the bare bones. He argued that a novel could be like an iceberg: the reader only sees the tip above the water but feels the bulk and weight of what lies below the surface,” Winterbottom said in a statement. “I want our film to be true to Hemingway’s approach — immediate, raw and natural — and I think in Tom Blyth we have found the perfect person to be Frederic Henry.”
Winterbottom’s “A Farewell to Arms” is being made with the full support of Hemingway’s estate, in a deal negotiated by Fremantle’s Raffaella De Angelis. The film will be produced by Melissa Parmenter for Revolution Films, with Winterbottom and Richard Brown serving as executive producers for Revolution and Passenger, respectively.
Blyth is riding a high from the success of “The Hunger Games” prequel, which has grossed over $200 million at the global box office. His performance as a young Coriolanus Snow was critically acclaimed, with PvNew‘s Peter Debruge calling him a “dashing newcomer.”
“As a long-time fan of Hemingway’s writing and Michael Winterbottom’s filmmaking, this is a dream project,” Blyth said. “Michael has adapted the book perfectly, with a script that captures all of the author’s unique nuance and precision. The examination of the human cost of conflict, and of love and hope trying to thrive within it, resonates more than ever. I can’t think of a better filmmaking team than Michael and Melissa to tell this story, and I’m truly thrilled to be bringing Frederic to life on screen for a contemporary audience.”
The Hemingway estate, represented by his grandsons Brendan Hemingway and Patrick Hemingway Adams as well as daughter-in-law Angela Hemingway Charles, added: “The family of Ernest Hemingway is thrilled to see ‘A Farewell to Arms’ reimagined for a new age. Given the chaotic state of the world, it’s hard to think of a better moment to reintroduce his seminal story of love and the devastating effects of war. We deeply appreciate the passion and depth of understanding exhibited by Winterbottom and his team. They are surely the right people to breathe new life into Hemingway’s vision, and at a time when we, tragically, need it most.”
