Parker to be immortalised on film
April 1, 2008
Adam Lechmere

A new film about Robert Parker has been given the green light, decanter.com has learned.

The biopic, with the working title 'The First Emperor', will deal with the life of the world's most celebrated wine critic, from his Maryland childhood to the present day.

One of the film's producers said, 'This is the story of how a small-town American guy came to dominate the wine world. This man truly is an emperor of wine.'

The part of Parker himself is not yet finalised, but Javier Bardem (right), who won an Oscar for his spine-chilling performance as the assassin Anton Chigurh in the recent No Country For Old Men, is 'very interested', US entertainment website Variety reports.

A source told decanter.com, 'Javier is a wine lover, and will approach the role of the great wine writer with the same intensity he brought to the part of Chigurh.

'Remember, this is the guy – I mean Parker – who brought the French to their knees. Javier won't be cutting any corners.'

Producers say the film will deal with little-known aspects of Parker's development as a wine connoisseur, such as the young traveller cutting short his first visit to France in order to get down to Morocco to 'score some really good hash'.

That episode is related in Elin McCoy's 2005 biography, The Emperor of Wine: The Rise of Robert M Parker Jr and the Reign of American Taste, a book which has proved a rich source of anecdote.

The film is in its early stages but it is understood casting is underway with Sideways star Paul Giamatti as Michel Rolland, British star Dame Helen Mirren as Jancis Robinson, and Hugh Grant taking the role of Leoville Barton proprietor Anthony Barton.

This is the latest in a line of high-profile wine films, by far the most successful of which is 2004's Sideways. January this year saw the release of Bottle Shock, starring Alan Rickman as Steven Spurrier, and a film about the 1976 Paris tasting, Judgment of Paris, is in development.

Have your say... To post your comment on this story, email us at news@decanter.com, making sure the relevant headline is in the subject field I like the idea of making a movie about R Parker's life. It is a great opportunity to show the success story of a man. But I hope the movie will also point America Wine consumption history. I mean the fact the knowledge in wine was near to the ground floor in the 70's in USA and this wealthy country needed a market where spending/making money. Parker leads "nouveaux riches" on the way of status enhancing. You should compare this move with Modern Art fever few years earlier, still in the US. I think the guy "who brought the French to their knees" had the right intuition for wine at the right moment, and with a massive market of millionaire beginners under his influence, he was able to orientate winemaker vinification. For once, french were consumer oriented, the first act of marketing in french wine industry. I think Parker's work is like wine for dummies or all I always dreamed to know about wine: making wine easy and accessible for beginners. Then new markets followed his school, buying wine the nose on guides and scores, not on a glass of wine. Damien D'Ovidio, Tokyo What was the date of that story again? David Matzdorf Happy April Fools Everyone ? Timothy RJ Feather, Summergate Fine Wines, Macau April Fool joke yah? Peter Tan, Equity Wine Investments, Singapore ...And Happy April Fool's Day to you, too! Steven Kolpan, New York The best April Fools' joke yet! This one definitely tops the "Paris Hilton as Bordeaux spokesperson" one from last year! The best part of it is that this could be so possible, even probable... Manuel Camblor, New York City This is great, having an assassin play Parker – and Paul Giamatti play Rolland! I love Decanter – and am always reminded of the date when I read these wonderful stories. Christopher S. Miller How very (April) foolish. Spaniard Javier Bardem as the patrician Robert Parker? A dead give-away. Please try a little harder next time. Nigel Floyd April Fool's, right? Craig Stancliff, Wine Patrol West Great scoop, Decanter... or could it be a pooper-scoop? Hugo Rose Wow, as if anyone would see this. I admit that Parker has great influence, but people want to read his reviews, not see his life story. Although I do like the 'scoring hash' part. Christopher Barrett, Texas

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