Rachel Weisz is in early talks to star in Fox Searchlight’s “My Cousin Rachel” remake.
Roger Michell is directing and adapting “My Cousin Rachel,” which is based on Daphne Du Maurier’s novel about an orphan who plots his revenge against a beautiful woman he believes killed his guardian. The original 1952 noir classic starred Olivia de Havilland and Richard Burton.
Insiders also tell Variety that Weisz is also in negotiations to join Tom Wilkinson in the drama “Denial.” Gary Foster and Russ Krasnoff are producing under their Krasnoff/Foster Entertainment banner alongside Shoebox Films
“Denial” based on Deborah E. Lipstadt’s book “History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier.” The book recounts Lipstadt’s legal battle for historical truth against David Irving, who accused her of libel when she declared him a Holocaust Denier. In the English legal system, the burden of proof is on the accused; therefore it was up to Lipstadt and her legal team to prove the essential truth that the Holocaust actually happened and he had manipulated data to make history vanish. David Hare penned the script with Mick Jackson directing.
Participant Media developed the project with BBC Films and they are in discussions to co-finance.
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Weisz would film “Denial” first then follow it up with “My Cousin Rachel.” Both films still have to round out their respective casts.
Weisz received accolades for her role in the dramedy “The Lobster,” which bowed at the Cannes Film Festival in May, and is set to hit theaters in spring 2016. Weisz can also be seen in “Youth,” which premiered at Cannes and played at Toronto, opens this year from Fox Searchlight and Weisz gives a poignant performance as the daughter to Michael Caine’s character. She has the Derek Cianfrance film “The Light Between the Oceans,” co-starring with Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander, on the horizon.
She is repped by WME, Brillstein Entertainment and Independent Talent Group.
