Felicity Jones is taking on the role of the Notorious RBG. The “Rogue One” star is set to replace Natalie Portman as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Mimi Leder’s “On the Basis Of Sex.” Deadline broke the story.
Written by Daniel Stiepelman, Ginsburg’s nephew, the biopic will trace Ginsburg’s fight for equality as she establishes her law career and rises through the professional ranks. She eventually became the first Jewish female justice on the Supreme Court. Stiepelman’s script made the Hit List, the Black List, and the first ever Athena List in 2014.
Portman has long been attached to portray Ginsburg and actually lobbied for the project to hire a female director. “Natalie Portman came to talk to me about this, and we had a very good conversation,” Ginsburg herself said when Marielle Heller (“The Diary of a Teenage Girl”) was originally attached to helm “On the Basis of Sex.” “And one thing, interesting, that she insisted on, it held up the project for awhile. She said, ‘I want the director to be a woman. There are not enough women in this industry.’”
Continuing this conversation with Marie Claire UK, Portman explained, “I don’t think women and men are more or less capable [as directors], we just have a clear issue with women not having opportunities.” She added, “We need to be part of the solution, not perpetuating the problem.”
No word yet on why Portman left the film, but it’s surprising to see her drop out of what was clearly a passion project.
“On the Basis of Sex” will begin production in Montreal this September. Robert W. Cort (“Save the Last Dance”) is serving as producer and Ram Bergman (“Looper”) is executive producing.
Jones recently signed on to star in an adaptation of “Swan Lake.” Black List topper Kristina Lauren Anderson is writing the as-yet untitled film. Jones’ last movie, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” grossed over $1 billion worldwide. The Oscar-nominated actress’ other credits include “A Monster Calls,” “The Theory of Everything,” and “Like Crazy.”
