Oscar winning filmmaker Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation) appears to have found her latest project. According to an exclusive broke by The Tracking Broad, Coppola will write and direct the Civil War-era romantic drama The Beguiled. Based upon a 1966 novel by Thomas Cullinan, this Southern Gothic story was made in 1971 Don Siegel film starring Clint Eastwood. Coppola’s take on the story has already attached a rich roster of talent, as Nicole Kidman (The Railway Man), Kirsten Dunst (Midnight Special) and Elle Fanning (Maleficent) are reported to star in the film.
The story centers around an injured Union soldier who is taken in and held captive in an all-female Confederate boarding school. While recovering, the soldier uses his cunning to mess the hearts of the women in the school. If plans work out, it appears that Kidman will portray Martha Farnsworth, a role played by late Oscar-winning Geraldine Page in the 1971 version. No male lead appears to have been cast in the project as of yet, however sources indicate that producers are looking for a Chris Pratt-like performer. Focus Features, who previously released Coppola’s Oscar winning Lost in Translation (2003) and Somewhere (2010), will distribute the film.
This would mark Coppola’s sixth feature film. She made her feature debut with the dreamy 2000 indie The Virgin Suicides (which starred Dunst) and in 2003 won a Best Original Screenplay Academy Award for her follow-up Lost in Translation. She since directed the Oscar winning period piece Marie Antoinette (which also starred Dunst), Somewhere (starring Fanning) and the 2013 true crime flick The Bling Ring. Coppola previously was tapped to direct live-action version of The Little Mermaid but dropped out; she was replaced with Rebecca Thomas (Electrik Children).
No start date for The Beguiled has been set yet but we will stay tuned.
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