Elle Fanning has signed on to join Jake Gyllenhaal, Oscar Isaac and Elisabeth Moss in Francis & The Godfather, Barry Levinson‘s film about the making of the classic gangster movie.
Fanning will play actor Ali MacGraw, who was married to Robert Evans, Paramount’s head of production, who Gyllenhaal will play. Isaac is playing Francis Ford Coppola, while Moss is playing Eleanor Coppola.
After winning a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer for the 1969 romantic comedy-drama Goodbye, Columbus, MacGraw starred in Love Story, a huge blockbuster for Paramount (grossing $136.4 million – in 1970 – on just a $2.2 million budget) now widely regarded as one of the most romantic films of all time. She earned a second Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination.
She later met Steve McQueen on the set of Sam Peckinpah‘s The Getaway, which led to her divorce from Evans and her eventual marriage to McQueen.
Levinson’s film will chronicle the almost Shakespearean behind-the-scenes drama that led to The Godfather becoming known as one of the greatest films of all time. The director said of Fanning’s casting:
“Elle is one of the most exciting and versatile actresses out there. I am beyond thrilled that she has joined the terrific cast of Francis & The Godfather and will bring her unique talent to the film”.
Fanning recently starred in Hulu’s The Great, and will next be seen in another limited series, The Girl From Plainville. On the feature length side of things, her next project is war drama The Nightingale, which will see her appear on screen with sister Dakota Fanning for the first time. Filming on Francis & The Godfather is expected to begin in the autumn.
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