Kapur, known for his internationally acclaimed biopics like 'Bandit Queen', 'Elizabeth' and 'Elizabeth: the Golden Age', will helm the project while Roberts' Red Om Films and Kevin Townsend's Science + Fiction will produce it. Mallory's remembered as having said, "Because it's there" in reply to the question "Why do you want to climb Mt Everest?" He and his climbing partner disappeared in 1924 when they were 800 feet from the summit before the clouds closed in, the Variety reported online.
Titled 'Mallory', the picture is being produced by Townsend, Roberts, Philip Rose and Lisa Gillan of Red Om Films. Set in post-WW1 England, the story chronicles Mallory's attempts to scale Everest and the toll it takes on his marriage, as the mountain climbing becomes his obsession.
The script has been penned by Townsend and the team of Matthew Faulk and Mark Skeet of 'Vanity Fair' fame. Kapur, 65, is also planning to rope in this year's Best Supporting Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz for his ambitious project 'Paani'.
Published 22 April 2010, 07:28 IST