Apple picks up Michael J Fox documentary
David Farnor | On 29, Apr 2022
Apple has announced a new untitled feature documentary about the life of actor and advocate Michael J Fox.
The film, directed by Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, Waiting for Superman, He Named Me Malala), will blend documentary, archival and scripted elements to recount Fox’s extraordinary story in his own words — the improbable tale of an undersized kid from a Canadian army base who rose to the heights of stardom in 1980s Hollywood. The account of Fox’s public life, full of nostalgic thrills and cinematic gloss, will unspool alongside his never-before-seen private journey, including the years that followed his diagnosis, at age 29, with Parkinson’s disease. Intimate and honest, and produced with unprecedented access to Fox and his family, the film will chronicle Fox’s personal and professional triumphs and travails, and will explore what happens when an incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease. With a mix of adventure and romance, comedy and drama, watching the film will feel like… well, like a Michael J Fox movie.
The untitled project is produced by Concordia Studio. Guggenheim, Annetta Marion (Oprah’s Master Class), Will Cohen (Divide and Conquer) and Jonathan King (Spotlight, Roma, Green Book) serve as producers, with Laurene Powell Jobs (Boys State, A Thousand Cuts), Jonathan Silberberg (Time, Boys State, Summer of Soul [… Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised]), Nicole Stott (Time, Boys State, Summer of Soul [… Or, “When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised]) and Fox’s long-time producing partner Nelle Fortenberry (Adventures of an Incurable Optimist) executive producing.
Production is currently underway in New York, Los Angeles and Vancouver.