Magicians Siegfried & Roy Getting Their Own Biopic

I would have bet big money that either Siegfried and/or Roy, the German magician duo famous for their Las Vegas shows, died a few years ago after being attacked by one of their tigers on stage. But I would have lost that bet. Despite that very real tiger attack, they're apparently both still alive, because THR reports that they've both signed on to become executive producers of a new biopic about their remarkable ascension to Vegas magician superstardom.

Siegfried and Roy's high-camp style magic show, involving white lions and tigers, was incredibly successful. It is estimated that more than 25 million people saw their Las Vegas show at the Mirage Resort and Casino. But the duo came under attack from animal rights activists who disapproved of their use of live animals in their act.

The Las Vegas show ran from 1990 to 2003, when a white tiger called Mantecore attacked Roy during a live performance and hauled him offstage, causing serious injury. Roy was left partially paralyzed by the attack and, after a brief comeback in 2010, the pair retired from show business. The tiger was not put down and survived until its death of natural causes in 2014.

Philipp Stolzl, the German filmmaker behind movies like The Physician and Erased, will direct.

“The image of Siegfried and Roy floating down onto the stage in their fantastical outfits, landing amidst a pack of snow-white tigers, has been burned into my mind since I was a boy," Stolzl said Monday in a statement. "It was truly out of this world. Being able to tell the story of Siegfried and Roy, covering all their successes, desires and dreams, is a wonderful gift that comes with a special set of challenges for me as a director."

No word yet on casting, but depending on how they tackle the magic elements of their story, this could be an interesting biopic.