By Gary Oldman has been confirmed to write and direct Flying Horse, in what will be his first directorial feature and first writing credit since the Bafta-winning Nil By Mouth in 1997.
Flying Horse will tell the story of double-vowel fan Eadweard Muybridge, who was a crucial figure in the development of moving images.
Most famously, he devised a way to take sequential photos of a horse galloping to prove that there was a point in its stride when all of its feet left the ground. This kind of argument passed for fun in in the 1870s.
Muybridge's story is a fascinating and grim one. While working as a photographer, Muybridge found out his wife was having an affair and promptly visited the other man, Major Harry Larkyns.
When he found him, he told him, "Good evening, Major, my name is Muybridge and here's the answer to the letter you sent my wife", and shot him at point blank range, killing him.
At his trial he tried to plead insanity, but in the end the jury ignored the judge's instructions and found him not guilty on grounds of justifiable homicide. After that, he went back to hanging out with horses.
Oldman will also act in the film, though it's been rumoured throughout the film's long gestation that he'll be a relatively minor part as Dennis Spencer, the man who prosecuted Muybridge. Ralph Fiennes and Benedict Cumberbatch have both reportedly been courted to star, but we've no confirmation yet.
