Siegfried & Roy to Tell Life Story in Upcoming Biopic
Siegfried & Roy, the German magicians who conquered Las Vegas before an infamous onstage tiger attack in 2003 ended their popular run, will be the subject of a new biopic from director Philipp Stolzl (The Physician). The entertainers, Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Uwe Horn, have signed a deal to executive produce a movie based on their lives, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Stolzl will direct the project for German film studio UFA Fiction. Jan Berger (The Physician) will write the script and UFA CEO Nico Hofmann will produce. Effects company Pixomondo (Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead) will produce visuals.
“The image of Siegfried and Roy floating down onto the stage in their fantastical outfits, landing amidst a pack of snow-white tigers, has been burned into my mind since I was a boy,” Stolzl told The Hollywood Reporter. “It was truly out of this world. Being able to tell the story of Siegfried and Roy, covering all their successes, desires and dreams, is a wonderful gift that comes with a special set of challenges for me as a director.”
The magicians announced that they’re “excited and honored” to work with Hofmann, whom they described as “Germany’s most successful film producer.”
Siegfried & Roy became a Las Vegas staple with their ornate magic show, which included white lions and tigers. Their act, staged from 1990 to 2003 at the Mirage Resort and Casino, ended tragically when a white tiger named Montecore bit and critically injured Horn during a performance. Horn, who was left partially paralyzed, has maintained in interviews that the seven-year-old tiger didn’t “attack” him but simply picked him up after he suffered a possible stroke. “Montecore saved my life,” he told People in 2004.
The duo retired from the industry after a comeback attempt in 2010.