Elisabeth Moss is following in the footsteps of Elle Fanning and taking on the role of an iconic horror writer. The “Handmaid’s Tale” star will play author Shirley Jackson in a thriller from Josephine Decker, Deadline confirms. Titled “Shirley,” the pic is based on Susan Scarf Merrell’s 2014 novel of the same name. Fanning portrays “Frankenstein” author Mary Shelley in Haifaa Al-Mansour’s “Mary Shelley,” set to bow May 25.
Penned by Sarah Gubbins (“I Love Dick), “Shirley” follows a couple that moves in with Jackson and her husband (Michael Stuhlbarg, “Call Me By Your Name”) hoping for a fresh start. “Instead, they find themselves fodder for a psycho-drama that inspires Jackson’s next major novel,” the source hints.
Producers include Moss, Gubbins, Sue Naegle, and Killer Films’ Christine Vachon and David Hinojosa.
“No two people write more wildly rich female characters than Shirley Jackson and Sarah Gubbins. It’s an honor to bring their female sorcery to life with these incredible partners.” said Decker. “I can’t wait to witness Elisabeth Moss’ visceral inhabitation of Shirley’s beautiful tortured spirit and Michael Stuhlbarg’s unflinchingly charismatic-while-cruel Stanley.”
Decker’s latest feature, “Madeline’s Madeline,” premiered at Sundance in January. The drama about a theater student who takes her role in a play too far hits theaters August 10. Decker’s other credits include “Flames,” “Thou Wast Mild and Lovely,” and “Butter on the Latch.”
When we asked Decker her advice for other female filmmakers she said, “Don’t let anyone intimidate you. You know your film better than anyone else in the world. Fight for what you want, and when you know something feels off, say something,” she urged. “The right collaborators will help you solve your problems — creative or logistical. The wrong collaborators will create many more problems.”
Moss reprised her Emmy-winning role as June/Offred in “The Handmaid’s Tale,” currently in its second season on Hulu. The “Mad Men” alumna will star in Andrea Berloff’s mob drama “The Kitchen” alongside Melissa McCathy and Tiffany Haddish, and is reportedly in talks to join “Get Out” writer-director Jordan Peele’s next pic, “Us.”
