Update: Carey Mulligan has passed on the role, according to THR.
Being a biopic centered on one of the world’s most powerful people / possible future President — i.e., brimming with the potential for some awards gold — it comes as no surprise that the Hilary Clinton-centered project, Rodham, was of interest to “several top actresses,” as an initial report had put it. But although a later news item alleged that the attentions of Jessica Chastain, Scarlett Johansson, Amanda Seyfried, and Reese Witherspoon had been seized — and if those aren’t “several top actresses“! — TheWrap have indicated that contention was never up for more than two. And now it may only concern one.
Only about a month after development first became public, the role of a young Hilary Rodham is inching closer and closer to Carey Mulligan, who is entering a tentative state of negotiations — specifically, conversing with producers and planning a meeting with attached helmer James Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now, Smashed). None of what’s being reported should seal a deal at this point in time, though such action — as well as the mutual desire for schedules to fall into place — is not something to ignore, and a note originally attached to the script claiming her involvement shows that intent has been clear from nearly the outset.
Young Il Kim is behind the script, set during the Watergate scandal as a young and ambitious lawyer, Hilary Rodham, is made the youngest member of the House Judiciary Committee tasked with the impeachment of Richard Nixon. A great opportunity, obviously, but one that comes with baggage: what direction to go in an your ex-boyfriend back in Arkansas is still on your mind, and how each path will affect your life.
Fitting, then, that their ambition is to open Rodham before or around Clinton’s inevitable Presidential campaign in the 2016 election. Arlook and Temple Hill Entertainment will produce.
The other contender for Ponsoldt‘s movie was Jennifer Lawrence — so, although someone had to lose a role for Mulligan to step in on that front, we don’t need to presume this will cripple a young actress’ career. The recent Oscar winner has her own title falling into place, as Variety inform us she’s stepping into the starring and producer position for Susanne Bier, with whom she has already collaborated on this fall’s Serena.
The title, this time around, is Rules of Inheritance, the fact-based story penned by Abi Morgan (Shame, The Iron Lady) revolving around Claire Bidwell Smith, “a young woman who loses her family but finds herself in the process.” If that sounds like too generic a template — I’d be curious about your lifetime experience with general storytelling if it actually strikes you as new and innovative — read this synopsis from Amazon:
“Claire Bidwell Smith, an only child, is just fourteen years old when both of her charismatic parents are diagnosed with cancer. What follows is a coming-of-age story that is both heartbreaking and exhilarating. As Claire hurtles towards loss she throws herself at anything she thinks might help her cope with the weight of this harsh reality: boys, alcohol, traveling, and the anonymity of cities like New York and Los Angeles. By the time she is twenty-five years old they are both gone and Claire is very much alone in the world.”
FilmNation are backing The Rules of Inheritance.
Do Mulligan and Lawrence appear to be making wise choices in attaching to either title?