"The Tempest" Gathers Cast
The big-screen version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest continues to gather cast members. I don’t know about you, but it’s been a while since I’ve seen a great Shakespearean film, and this one, written and directed by Julie Taymor, sounds pretty good.
Taymor has helmed Across the Universe, Frida, and Titus, and also helped bring the TV series, Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD to life. So she certainly has the chops to do justice to “The Tempest.”
Cast members so far include Jeremy Irons, Djimon Hounsou, Russell Brand, Alfred Molina, Ben Wishaw and Felicity Jones. Geoffrey Rush is in negotiations to join, as well.
Here’s a kicker, though. The original play centers on Prospero, an exiled duke-turned-sorcerer, but Taymor has a knack for experimenting with projects, so she’s re-gendered the lead character to be female. And guess who’s playing her? Helen Mirren! I can’t think of a better person to take on that role.
More after the jump…
Shakespeare’s play mixes romance, politics, and the supernatural. The film version will revolve around Prospera, her daughter Miranda (Jones), and a shipwrecked crew full of Prospera’s enemies. The island’s other inhabitants include Hounsou as the deformed slave Caliban and Wishaw as the airy spirit Ariel.
On the ship are rising comedy star Brand, playing Trinculo, a jester; Irons, as Alonso, the King of Naples; and Molina as the drunken butler Stephano. Rush would play Gonzalo, a royal adviser and old ally of Prospera’s.
Bob Chartoff, Lynn Hendee and Julia Taylor-Stanley are producing, eyeing a November start date in Hawaii. Miramax has acquired the rights to all English-speaking territories; Icon is handling foreign sales.
Image: Helen Mirren, National Treasure: Book of Secrets; Source: Hollywood Reporter
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