THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY
plans for a screen adaptation
of Erik Larson’s book
Latest News
January 22, 2025: 20th Century Studios picks up The Devil in the White City as a feature film.
March 6, 2023: Hulu dropped plans to produce The Devil in the White City TV miniseries.
August 29, 2022: “According to a recent listing in Production Weekly, the series is reportedly scheduled to begin filming in March 2023 and will be filmed entirely in Chicago. Exact filming dates and locations have yet to be disclosed at this time.” [ReelChicago.com]
Development of Devil in the White City
A film adaptation of The Devil in the White City was first developed by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner through their Cruise/Wagner company, but the option lapsed in 2004. Paramount acquired the film rights in 2007 and set it up with producers Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher. Leonardo DiCaprio bought the film rights to The Devil in the White City in 2010 and began developing it as a feature film for Paramount studios to be directed by Martin Scorsese with DiCaprio was set to star in the leading role of the killer Holmes.
In 2019, the project changed to a big-budget miniseries for the streaming service Hulu. The series is being produced by Paramount TV Studios, ABC Signature, and Appian Way. Hulu canceled their plans in March 2023, but ABC Signature remains committed to the drama and will be shopping the show to new outlets.
Credits
Cast
Keanu Reeves as Daniel Burnham(confirmed 8/4/2022) (exited 10/7/2022)- Matt Damon?
- Robert Pattison?
Producers
- Sam Shaw (show runner)
- Leonardo DiCaprio
- Martin Scorsese
- Keanu Reeves
- Jennifer Davisson
- Rick Yorn
- Stacey Sher
- Lila Byock
Todd Field(exited 10/10/2022)- Mark Lafferty
- ? Emma Koskoff
Writers
Directors
Todd Field reportedly will direct the first two episodes. (out 10/10/2022)
More Information
Internet Movie Database (IMDB) page for the miniseries The Devil in the White City
Posts about Erik Larson’s 2003 book, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
Icons of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition notecards
The Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) in Chicago held their “Revel in the White City” virtual simulation at the museum on May 19 and May 20 to a packed auditorium. It was spectacular. Making the event even more festive were a set of posters designed by Chicago artist David Lee Csicsko, titled “Icons of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.” Greeting cards of the set of eight images were [...]
May 4-Nov. 25, 2018: “Celebrating Libbey Glass, 1818-2018” at Toledo Museum of Art
The Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) currently has an exhibit commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Libbey Glass Company. Celebrating Libbey Glass, 1818-2018 features several pieces showing the Toledo glassmaker’s contributions to the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. The Libbey Glass Works building on the Midway Plaisance. [Image from Views of the World's Fair and Midway Plaisance (Conkey, 1894).] The Libbey Glass Works building, located at the east [...]
Video about the Marquette Building murals
The lobby of the Marquette Building in Chicago. The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York, includes many items associated with the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in their extensive collection. They recently posted a video about the stunning Tiffany glass-tile mural in Chicago’s historic Marquette Building, noting its own connection to the Chicago World’s Fair: "At the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, architects William Holabird [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Horticulture Building (p. 50)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 50 – THE HORTICULTURE BUILDING THE HORTICULTURE BUILDING.—It is doubtful if among all the views taken upon the World's Fair grounds one has been secured which in beauty and general interest surpasses that given here. It is from the top of the Government Building looking west over the Wooded Island and commanding the whole splendid frontage of the Horticulture [...]
May 2018 Trivia Question
Our monthly newsletter includes a “Palmer Puzzler” exclusive to those who subscribe. The first person to send us the correct answer wins a small prize. The May 2018 Trivia Question To celebrate the opening of the 1893 World’s Fair and the Woman’s Building, what did Bertha Palmer drive? A. an electric “automobile” on display in the Transportation Building B. a hard bargain with Director-General Davis to have President Grover [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR – The Iron Gates, German Section (p. 49)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 49 – THE IRON GATES, GERMAN SECTION THE IRON GATES, GERMAN SECTION.—The facade, if it may be so called, of the German exhibit in the Manufactures Building, was as unique as it was attractive. No solid front or imposing arches faced the visitor, but, instead, merely three iron gates connected by an iron fence. But the gates were on [...]
June 1-July 1, 2018: “Burnham’s Dream: The White City” musical
The world premiere of a new musical about the Director of Works for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition opens on June 1 for a one-month run in Chicago. “Burnham’s Dream: The White City,” written by June Finfer with music by Elizabeth Doyle, tells “the tale of ambition of a city and of an architect … Chicago’s Dream City that lived for only a few months, then vanished.” In her [...]
“Shock of the New: The Legacy of the 1893 World’s Fair” on BackStory
On May 11, the American history podcast BackStory released episode #0238, an hour-long exploration of the Columbian Exposition titled “Shock of the New: The Legacy of the 1893 World’s Fair.” Hosts Ed Ayers, Nathan Connolly, and Joanne Freeman invite listeners to visit the fairgrounds starting with a segment called “Dreaming Bigger.” Historian Bernie Carlson then explores the role of electricity at the fair in “Electric Feel.” Purdue University Associate [...]
How Chicago beat New York to get the 1893 World’s Fair
Colleen Connolly’s piece “How Chicago beat New York to get the 1893 World’s Fair” in the May 11 Chicago Tribune provides a short history of Chicago’s effort to win the bid to host the World’s Columbian Exposition. Testimony by Republican Rep. Robert Hitt of Illinois before the House of Representatives in February 1890 argued for holding the event in Chicago, then a city only 53 years old: “The people of [...]
May 20: Auction of original columns from Ceylon Building
Columns from the Ceylon Building [Image from Clars Auction Gallery.] Remnants from an original 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition building come up for auction on May 20, offering a rare opportunity to own a piece of the Fair. Clars Auction Gallery (5644 Telegraph Ave., Oakland, California) will auction a set of hand-carved pillars that were part of the original Ceylon Building on the fairgrounds. Their auction 598 “Art, Furniture, [...]