Oscar-winning director Bruce Beresford has signed on to develop and direct Taliesin, a biopic of iconic American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, which has been scripted by Nicholas Meyer. [THR]
Taliesin refers to the architect’s former home/studio in Spring Green, Wisconsin, where the majority of the film’s plot will be set. It has been regarded as a “masterpiece of Prairie-style architecture,” and generated much attention for Wright, as he built it for himself and his married mistress, Martha “Mamah” Cheney. In 1914, Cheney, her children, and four others were murdered by a domestic worker while Wright was away.
Beresford has described Meyer‘s script with the definitive label of “very good,” stating that it “doesn’t cover his whole life, just a small section of it, and it doesn’t whitewash him into some sort of saint.” Known predominantly for helming Driving Miss Daisy, Beresford has expressed excitement for the project, and notes that it’s about time Wright’s life made its way to the big screen.
Branded Pictures Entertainment producer J. Todd Harris and Kartemquin Films’ Ed Bachrach are currently raising money for the project, with Beresford recently mapping out locations in the Chicago area for filming.
In other Beresford-related news, Deadline reports that IFC Films have acquired North American rights to his dramatic comedy Peace, Love & Misunderstanding. The film premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, and stars Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener, Chace Crawford, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Sundance’s breakout star, Elizabeth Olsen.
The film is a comedy which revolves around an uppity New York lawyer (Keener) who brings her two teenagers to a farmhouse of her hippie mother (Fonda) for a countryside vacation. The weekend getaway quickly turns into a summer adventure of various eye-opening experiences, many of which are presumably wacky.
Does any of this Beresford news excite you?