Ashley Avis, the horse-loving filmmaker who made Black Beauty, is champing at the bit to write and direct a remake of City of Angels, the 1998 film that was itself inspired by Wings of Desire by Wim Wenders. Warner Bros, Atlas Entertainment, and Perez Pictures are behind the project, according to Deadline, which broke the news.
Wenders won a Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival for his 1987 romantic comedy set in Berlin, in which a guardian angel falls in love with a mortal. The 1998 Warner Bros film starred Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan and was directed by Brad Silberling from a script by Dana Stevens. It grossed nearly $200 million worldwide. Charles Roven of Atlas Entertainment, who produced that flick, will return to produce the upcoming film along with Rebecca Steel Roven Oakley and Paul Perez.
When the news broke, Avis was quoted in Deadline as saying: “I am honored, and deeply excited, to bring this stunning love story to life through a poetic new lens, alongside distinguished producers in Charles, Rebecca, and Paul. Working with Warner Bros on such a classic title has been an aspiration of mine for a long time, and I am very grateful to have found champions for our reimagining in these partners.”
Recently, Avis directed the award-winning documentary Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West, which focused on how the US government treats wild horses in the Western states. It’s scheduled to be released by Gravitas on May 12.
The filmmaker is not merely horsing around: she had earlier served as screenwriter, director, and editor of the 2020 Disney+ film Black Beauty, based on Anna Sewell’s 1877 novel that celebrated all things equestrian. That movie starred Oscar winner Kate Winslet, Mackenzie Foy, and Iain Glen. Avis also was commissioned to create a series about the Breyer horse brand. In she directed Deserted, a thriller starring Mischa Barton, and in 2018 she directed Adolescence with a cast that included India Eisley, Tommy Flanagan and Elisabeth Röhm.
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