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
Winter World’s Fair Reading
As we head into the holiday season, you might find some time to enjoy a trip to the 1893 World's Fair through some vintage fiction. Check out our Fair Fiction Library page to connect with some historical novels, fictional memoirs, and juvenile literature. We'd eventually like to offer short summaries or reviews of these titles, so send us your thoughts if you happen to read one of these titles. [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS (pp. 11-12)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 11 INTERIOR OF MANUFACTURES BUILDING.—Very like a great city by itself was the interior of the Manufactures Building, with its forty-four acres of exhibiting space — space which was not enough, great as it was for what the world demanded, with its broad avenues, its scores and scores of galleries, its wonderful exhibits and its teeming population. Never under [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS (pp. 9-10)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 9 THE ART PALACE.— No structure among the many which made up the White City commanded more universal admiration than did the Art Palace, wherein were displayed the triumphs of artists from all over the world. It was a fitting receptacle for its marvelous displays. The style of architecture adapted in the building was of the Grecian-Ionic order and [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS (pp. 7-8)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 7 THE RUINS OF YUCATAN - To the mind of the student of the world's history or that of any one of ordinary learning and imagination, there was no more interesting exhibit in its department of the Exposition than were the ruins from the ancient cities of Yucatan. ' They told of a civilized race existing on this continent, [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS (pp. 5-6)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 5 THE GOLDEN DOOR.—The main portal of the Transportation Building, because of its strikingly attractive features both of design and coloring, became known as " The Golden Door," and certainly deserved the admiring title given it by the public. The Transportation Building, as a whole, was a complete departure in style and hue from the great mass of structures [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS (pp. 3-4)
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS Page 3 THE COURT OF HONOR BY MOONLIGHT.—Of all the magnificent spectacles the Columbian Exposition afforded the view of the Court of Honor by moonlight seems, by common consent, to be accorded the first place. The effect of wonderful lights upon the glorious white buildings and on the waters, the electric flashes through the air, the sky scene made more [...]
PICTURESQUE WORLD’S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS (pp. 1-2)
My reading copy of PICTURESQUE WORLD'S FAIR. AN ELABORATE COLLECTION OF COLORED VIEWS has a broken binding and many ripped and tattered pages. In order to preserve the images and text for further enjoyment, I have decided to scan and post the images with captions. I'll do my best to remove any folds, foxing, rips and tears, fading and damage that has occurred in the past 124 years and upload them [...]
Remembering George R. Davis, Director-General of the Fair
On November 25, 1899, George R. Davis died in Chicago. He served as the Director-General of the 1893 World’s Fair. This short biographic sketch of Davis appears in "My Country, Tis of Thee !" or, the United States of America; Past, Present and Future by Willis Fletcher Johnson and John Habberton, (John Y. Huber Company, 1892): A portrait of George R. Davis from Picturesque World's Fair (W. B. [...]
Wishing our readers a plentiful Thanksgiving!
THE STATUE OF "PLENTY" from Picturesque World's Fair (W. B. Conkey, 1894). The pieces of statuary which stood beside the portals of the great buildings or bridge approaches, or on pedestals overlooking the Grand Basin and canals and lagoons, had all definite names fitted to the idea of their conception. What Kemeys and Proctor did with wild animals Potter and French did with domestic ones, introducing them in statuary with [...]
Nov. 30, 2017: “Fair Game” theater show at Northwestern University
An interactive theater show opening soon at Northwestern University will allow audience members to walk through the magic (and menace) of the 1893 World’s Fair. “Fair Game: A Chicago Spectacle” by Sit and Spin Productions explores Chicago in the years 1891 to 1893, as the city builds and then hosts the Columbian Exposition. Written and directed by Eli Newell, the choose-your-own-adventure “FAIR GAME” is described this way: As the [...]