Terence Davies‘ highly-anticipated Sunset Song may not bow at Cannes this year, but ahead of a likely festival premiere, the director is already beginning production on his next project, one he also wrote. After being rumored for more than a few years, this week a shoot in Belgium kicked off for his Emily Dickinson biopic A Quiet Passion. Starring Jennifer Ehle in the lead role and Cynthia Nixon, it’ll follow the early days of the now-iconic poet as schoolgirl. “Emily Dickinson was one of the world’s greatest poets, she distilled the terror and beauty of the world down to the quintessence of meaning and expression – I feel privileged to tell her story,” Davies said.
Next up, a top-notch cast is coming together for the unfortunately named WWII drama HHHH, including Jason Clarke, Rosamund Pike, Jack O’Connell, Mia Wasikowska, and Jack Reynor. Variety reports that Cedric Jimenez (The Connection) will direct the project following the rise and fall of Reinhard Heydrich (Clarke) in Nazi Germany and his assassination thanks to a pair of resistance paratroopers (O’Connell and Reynor). Pike takes the role of Heydrich’s wife, who had a major influence on his rise to power, and Wasikowska will take the role of a Czech resistance fighter. Based on Laurent Binet’s novel, production begins in August.
Following the stellar Clouds of Sils Maria, Juliette Binoche has found a new leading role, Variety reports. She’ll take the lead in Pearl, which chronicles the life of Nobel Prize winner Pearl S. Buck. Shot by the legendary Vilmos Zsigmond and directed by Roxanne Messina Captor, it’ll follow the journey of the author who spent a great deal of time in China as both a missionary and novelist.
Lastly, with Mad Men wrapped up for Jon Hamm, he’s found a new project with the political thriller High Wire Act. The Wrap reports that the Tony Gilroy-scripted, Brad Anderson-directed project will follow Hamm as “a former U.S. diplomat who is called back into service in the 1980s to save a former colleague from the group possibly responsible for his own family’s death.” There’s no word yet on when it’ll go into production, but if sales at Cannes go well, hopefully soon.
Which of the above projects are you most looking forward to?