Todd Haynes (Safe, Carol) has cast two Oscar winners for his next project, a drama titled May December. Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore have signed on to star in the film, which is based on a script by Samy Burch, and based on a story by Burch and Alex Mechanik.
Portman will play a Hollywood actress who travels to the picturesque coast of Maine to study the real-life woman she’s set to play in a film. Moore will play the woman who, two decades prior, was the subject of a tabloid scandal after she married a man 23 years younger than her.
As Moore’s character and her husband prepare to send their twin girls off to college, the family dynamic begins to unravel with Portman’s character entering the fray.
“What so appealed to me about Samy Burch’s exceptional script was how it navigated potentially volatile subject matter with a kind of observational patience that allowed the characters in the story to be explored with uncommon subtlety”, Haynes expained to Variety.
Will Ferrell and Jessica Elbaum are producing the film under their Gloria Sanchez Productions banner. Christine Vachon and Pam Koffler of Killer Films will also produce, as will Portman and her MountainA partner Sophie Mas.
Portman and Moore being directed by Haynes is pretty much cinematic catnip for any film fan. Along with 90s – and extremely relevant during this pandemic – classic Safe and acclaimed romantic drama Carol, Haynes has also directed the unique Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There and last year’s excellent thriller Dark Waters.
Haynes also has the Apple documentary film The Velvet Underground debuting at the Cannes Film Festival later this year, and May December will be shopped to potential buyers soon at the Cannes Virtual Film Market.
Portman was last seen starring in sci-fi drama Lucy In The Sky, but she just wrapped filming on her return to the MCU in the form of Thor: Love And Thunder. Moore was recently seen in The Woman In The Window and is currently starring in Apple’s Stephen King adaptation, Lisey’s Story. On the big screen, she’ll next be seen in Dear Evan Hansen.
Production on May December is expected to begin next year. Cinephiles will be hoping for big things from this collaboration of acclaimed creators.
#Peace.Love.MayDecember
