Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Twin Towers Tightrope Movie <em>The Walk</em>, Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, To Open 2015 NY Film Festival
By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 5, 2015
Modified Jun 5, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Jun 5, 2015
Modified Jun 5, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The IMAX 3D retelling of high wire aerialist Philippe Petit's incredible 1974 walk between the Twin Towers is getting a splashy premiere: The Walk, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Petit, will be the Opening Night Film at the 53rd New York Film Festival.
Kent Jones, the NYFF's director and selection committee chair, said, "The Walk is surprising in so many ways. First of all, it plays like a classic heist movie in the tradition of The Asphalt Jungle or Bob le flambeur—the planning, the rehearsing, the execution, the last-minute problems—but here it’s not money that’s stolen but access to the world’s tallest buildings. It’s also an astonishing re-creation of Lower Manhattan in the ’70s. And then, it becomes something quite rare, rich, mysterious… and throughout it all, you’re on the edge of your seat." This trailer certainly lives up to that:
Zemeckis, whose last film, Flight, was the Closing Night Film at the NYFF in 2012, said, "I am extremely honored and grateful that our film has been selected to open the 53rd New York Film Festival. The Walk is a New York story, so I am delighted to be presenting the film to New York audiences first. My hope is that Festival audiences will be immersed in the spectacle, but also to be enraptured by the celebration of a passionate artist who helped give the wonderful towers a soul.”
The film, which also stars Ben Kingsley, James Badge Dale, Ben Schwartz, Steve Valentine, Charlotte Le Bon, Clement Sibony, Caesar Domboy and Benedict Samuel, will be released in 3D and IMAX 3D on October 2nd, 2015. The film is based on Petit's memoir, To Reach The Clouds. Petit wrote this about preparing his walks: "Even in the midst of the hardest rigging job or most demanding clandestine adventure, I never fail to pause and admire the moment when tension brings my cable to what I consider its most seductive shape. Then I pause and smile back."
When we spoke to Petit in 2008, we asked, "If you were going to try to do something in the same spirit as that in New York City today, is there anything that you would consider doing?" He replied, "Well, I continue to have in my mind some illegal walks, of course. But we live in a different time now, and suddenly in a big city like New York, if I'm caught by the powers that be at the top of a building with some equipment, I would be shot first and asked questions later. I think it's probably impossible, and yet what I do in my life is I tackle the impossible."
The New York Film Festival begins on September 25th and runs through October 11th.
Tagged
The Walk
philippe petit
twin towers
new york film festival
nyff
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Robert Zemecki
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
An expert guide to navigating the Fulton Center subway frankenstation
Bonus tip: There's a Krispy Kreme.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
Published Nov 12, 2026 at 10:52 a.m. ET
A good bet: New Yorkers are lining up to become casino dealers
Learn to deal blackjack and you'll always been employed.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Arts & Entertainment
A good bet: New Yorkers are lining up to become casino dealers
Learn to deal blackjack and you'll always been employed.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Long-lost Georgia O’Keeffe painting found in East Village closet
By
Hannah Frishberg
The real race at the NYC Marathon is getting to the front of the toilet line
By
Samantha Max
On HBO's 'The Gilded Age,' Ben Ahlers is New York high society’s man of the hour
By
Sonia Rao
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .