Russell Crowe has signed on to star in Sam Taylor-Johnson‘s latest project, Rothko. The film will tell the true story of Kate Rothko‘s legal battle against men attempting to sell her father Mark Rothko‘s art. Crowe will play Mark, while Aisling Franciosi will play Kate. The film will also star Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Michael Stuhlbarg.
Lara Wood is penning the screenplay, which is an adaptation of Lee Seldes‘ The Legacy Of Mark Rothko. The film also boasts respected Hollywood names Colleen Atwood as costume designer, Jeff Cronenweth as cinematographer, and Mark Friedberg as production designer.
When Kate Rothko found herself suddenly both an orphan and a mother to her younger brother Topher at 19, she turned to her father’s three closest friends for guidance: anthropology professor Morton Levine, painter Theodore Stamos, and accountant-turned-gallery director Bernard J. Reis.
But when she discovered that these men had an elaborate scheme in place to sell Rothko’s art fraudulently, she moved heaven and earth to prevent this blatant abuse of her father’s trust. With the help of assistant Attorney General Gus Harrow, she began a legal battle that would eventually rumble on for over four years and expose the underhanded greed of the supposedly genteel art world.
“Rothko is not just a movie about the great artist, but rather a timeless story about right versus wrong,” said director Taylor-Johnson in a statement. “It’s Kate Rothko‘s journey to protect the seminal paintings from the corrupt men who betrayed her father and stole his art; it is a reckoning with men in positions of power who try everything to destroy her father’s legacy”.
Rothko sounds like a film worth getting excited for. Not only does it have a great cast on board, but it should introduce most of the general public to a fascinating true crime story.
The film currently doesn’t have a release date.
#Peace.Love.Rothko
