After taking Carnage from the stage to the screen, Roman Polanski is undergoing the same process for an adaptation of David Ives‘ Tony-winning play Venus in Fur. Announced in a press release, the Chinatown director plans to shoot the film, which can be described as an erotic black comedy, entirely in French. He picked up the project while waiting around for the final screenplay of the previously announced political thriller D.
While the original play was led by Hugh Dancy and Nina Arianda (who won a Tony for best actress), Polanski will instead utilize the talents of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly star Emmanuelle Seigner (who worked with Polanski on Frantic and Bitter Moon and is married to the director) and Heartbeats lead Louis Garrel. The somewhat meta film, described as an erotic game of cat and mouse, follows a young actress who is determined to book the lead role in new play. Check out Polanski’s quote below, for the film which he adapted with Ives himself.
“I’ve been looking for a chance to make a film in French with Emmanuelle for a long time. Reading ‘Venus in Fur’ I realized the moment had arrived. I got so fired up to put this brilliant black comedy on film that I decided to fit it in before ‘D.,’ whose screenplay and pre-production will demand a few more months. Louis Garrel and Emmanuelle Seigner will make for a stunning duo.”
Production kicks off in Paris this November for a likely 2013 release.
Are you looking forward to Polanski’s next film? Did you see the play?