Charlize Theron will produce “Marie Colvin,” a biopic of the late war photographer.
The Hollywood Reporter details that the script is based on a Vanity Fair article chronicling Colvin’s eventful, dangerous life as a war correspondent: “Colvin covered every major conflict of the last three decades, including the Sri Lankan civil war, where she was severely injured and lost an eye; the Arab Spring; and finally the war in Syria, where she died in a rocket attack while reporting from Homs.”
No official word about who will play Colvin, but rumor has it that Theron may take on the role.
Matthew Heineman will helm the project. We can’t help but wish a woman director was attached, particularly because “Marie Colvin” will tell the story of a woman in a male-dominated field (which is, of course, the case for female helmers.) Heineman is making his narrative debut here, so it’s not as though the team behind the film necessarily hired the most experienced person for the gig. Heineman is, however, well-established in the documentary world, where he’s directed three doc features, and scored an Oscar nom for last year’s drug cartel doc “Cartel Land.” He also received a DGA award for the film. Our lack of enthusiasm about Heineman taking the reins isn’t anything personal, and we’re absolutely still looking forward to seeing “Marie Colvin.” We just hate to see women directors consistently get overlooked, especially for projects like this. It also bears mentioning that the script was adapted by Arash Amel, a male screenwriter.
Two other high-profile films about female war photographers are in the works with Academy Award winners inked to star. Jennifer Lawrence will play Lynsey Addario in an upcoming adaptation of Addario’s best-selling memoir “It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life of Love and War,” and Kate Winslet is set to portray American photographer Lee Miller in an as-yet-untitled movie. Miller’s photos documented the events and effects of WWII, including the London Blitz and concentration camps. Steven Spielberg will direct the Lawrence project, and a director hasn’t been named for the Winslet drama. Fingers crossed that a female director gets hired, so at least one out of three of these films are women-directed.
Marissa McMahon will produce “Marie Colvin” alongside Theron and her Denver & Delilah Banner, as will Basil Iwanyk’s Thunder Road Pictures.
