Petit - The Walk

ALSO BY PHILIPPE PETIT

BOOKS

A Square Peg (unpublished)

Cheating the Impossible

Why Knot?

Creativity, The Perfect Crime

Trois Coups

On the High Wire

Trait du Funambulisme

Funambule

L Art du Pickpocket

MAJOR PERFORMANCES

Jacob Javits Center, New York City

The Song of the Phoenix, New York City

Look Up! Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Philippes World Trade Center Walk, East Hampton

Cathedral of Notre-Dame

Sydney Harbour Bridge

World Trade Center

Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine

Paris Opera

Museum of the City of New York

Lincoln Center

Jerusalem (A Bridge for Peace)

Grand Central Terminal

Eiffel Tower

Tokyo, Akasaka

Vienna Film Festival

Frankfurt Cathedral

American Museum of Natural History

Crossing Broadway, New York City

FILMS

Concert in the Sky

High Wire

Niagara: Miracles, Myths & Magic

Tour et Fil

Werner Herzogs Filmstunde

National Geographic Profile of Philippe Petit

The Man on the Wire

Historischer Hochseillauf

Mondo

Novas Secrets of the Lost Empire

The Center of the World

Man on Wire

PROJECTS

Rapa Nui Walk, an inclined high wire on Easter Island

Wireless HD, a one-man show

Street Juggling Around the World, a documentary

Tightrope: The Theater of Balance, a Master class

Copyright 2002 by Philippe Petit

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Brian Peterson

Cover photo credit Motion Picture Artwork and Photography 2015 CTMG. All Rights Reserved.

Photo inserts 2015 CTMG. All rights reserved.

ILLUSTRATION CREDITS

2002 by Jean-Louis Blondeau/GAMMA:

2002 by Jim Moore/GAMMA: pp.

1982 Fred Conrad / The New York Times , p.

1974 Vic DeLucia / New York Post REX USA, p.

Collection of the author: all documents, and photographs on . All sketches and drawings are by the author.

ISBN: 978-1-63450-500-0

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-0330-8

Printed in the United States of America

One more thing: Philippe, you are not a cowardso what I want to hear from you is the ecstatic truth about the twin towers.

Werner Herzog

This story belongs to Jean-Louis Blondeau,

Annie Allix,

Jean-Franois Heckel,

Papa Rudy,

Francis Brunn,

Barry Greenhouse,

Jim Moore,

Jean-Pierre Dousseau,

Ann Forster,

Jessica Lange,

Rick Schneider,

Mark Lewis,

Paul Frame,

Judy Bohannon and my friend Baron,

Loretta Harris,

Pat Pannel,

Alain Ballini,

Oscar Figueroa,

Philippe Rodier,

Yves Bourde,

Etienne Becker,

Michel Vionet,

and to that seabird circling over me on the morning of August 7, 1974.

As for the false friends who helped and gave up, who helped and betrayed, they are merely guilty of not having had enough heart to move mountains. I forgive you. This is why I changed your names in the text and blackened your eyes in the photographsto confuse the gods. Perhaps they will not recognize you.

This book is dedicated to
my ever-generous partner in crime,
thought-provoking longtime companion,
trusted in-house editor, and gifted cook,

Kathy ODonnell

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

I first found out about Philippe Petits 1974 walk between the towers of the World Trade Center from a childrens book, The Man Who Walked between the Towers . After I read it, I had to know more. I went on the Internet and found out everything I could find about it, including watching Ric Burnss documentary New York and the history of the World Trade Center.

Philippes whole story was fascinating yet understandable. He was an artistone who felt that the Towers were made for him as a canvas to create his art. If you ask an artist: Why did you paint this painting? Why did you write this music? Why did you make this movie? theres never any answer. Anyone who creates any type of art will identify with that feeling that was inside of Philippethat he had to do this, no matter what the cost.

I love the idea of a guya performance artistwho pulls off this great caper. Its illegal, its dangerous, but it doesnt hurt anybody. It seemed like something out of another timeyou dont really see stuff like that anymore. It was almost like a fable.

As I was deep into this story, I was also coincidentally thinking about 3D and what it can bring to film. I realized something: the problem with most 3D movies is that 3D is an afterthought. For 3D to work, it has to be an emotional part of the story. Thats what I was thinking about when I came across Philippes walk, and I thought, This is a movie that should be made under any circumstance, but secondly, should be absolutely presented in 3D.

Theres a simple reason why. When you watch a wire walker, you always have to watch by looking up at him. You never get the perspective of what it is like to be on the wire. Our film will follow Petits story but will ultimately put you on the wire, walking with Philippe, and by presenting it in 3D, it is going to be spectacular and very emotional.

As we look back now, the history of the Twin Towers since Philippes walk is, obviously, tragic. But my feeling is that we cant only remember the Twin Towers in tragedy. We must remember, there was this one moment in their history that was human and incredibly life-affirming, artistic, and beautifulsomething so daring and surprising that will never be done again.

This story and our film are a celebration of everything that an artist with passion and verve is able to achieve. The movie will bring that spirit alive as we put you on the wire, 110 stories up, with Philippe Petit, between the two World Trade Center buildings. The Walk is a love letter to these two magnificent structures, to the city of New York, and to a young man who gave the Twin Towers a soul. It will be as close as most of us will ever get to truly reaching the clouds.

Robert Zemeckis