Claim: Joseph Gordon-Levitt lost out for the starring role in the biopic about Philippe Petit.

The Walk is a 2015 American 3D biographical drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Christopher Browne and Zemeckis . It is based on the story of 24-year-old French high-wire artist Philippe Petit 's walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on August 7 , 1974 . The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt , Ben Kingsley , Charlotte Le Bon , James Badge Dale , Ben Schwartz and Steve Valentine .   The film was released by TriStar Pictures on September 30 , 2015 , in the United States in IMAX 3D , and on October 9 in regular 2D and 3D . It was dedicated to the victims of the September 11 attacks .