The son winds up re-creating his elusive father's life in a series of legends and myths inspired by the few facts he knows. Through these tales, the son begins to understand his father's great feats -- and his great failings. McGregor will play Finney's character in the re-creation of the tales.

Lange will play the wife to Finney's character, with Lohman playing her as a younger woman in the tales. The other cast members are all key players in the stories, with DeVito starring as Amos, a man who runs a circus where McGregor's character works for a time; Buscemi as poet Norther Winslow; and Carter as Jenny, a woman featured prominently throughout.