Spitfire, di Bonaventura focus on Galileo pic

Blasi to pen screenplay about inventor, explorer

By CLAUDE BRODESSER

Hollywood, a town that believes the world revolves around itself, is embracing the man who said the Earth is not the center of the universe: A theatrical motion picture based on the life of 17th century scientist Galileo Galilei is being developed by Lorenzo di Bonaventura's di Bonaventura Prods. and Guy East and Nigel Sinclair's Spitfire Pictures.

UTA-repped Vera Blasi ("Woman on Top") pitched and will write the screenplay.

Tale will focus on the extraordinary man caught in the potentially fatal battle between hard science and religious dogma. Credited with developing the telescope, Galileo would discover the four satellites of Jupiter, observe a supernova, verify the phases of Venus and discover sunspots. His breakthroughs proved the Copernican system, but for his pains, the Catholic Church branded him a heretic.

Galileo was also a complicated family man: Never marrying, he nonetheless had a brief and intense relationship with Marina Gamba, a woman who bore him three children. Di Bonaventura brought the project to Spitfire, which will co-develop the project with di Bonaventura as part of its non-exclusive first look deal with Intermedia Films.

Spitfire's Alex Brunner will oversee the project for the shingle.

Spitfire Pictures is developing an eclectic slate of feature and television projects. It's first feature, Bob Dylan starrer "Masked and Anonymous," was released by Sony Classics in the United States on July 25. Company is also producing the definitive anthology of Bob Dylan's life up to 1966, directed by Martin Scorsese and co-produced with the BBC and Dylan.