Marielle Heller’s star continues to rise. The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that the “Diary of a Teenage Girl” helmer will write and direct a feature film adaptation of “The Case Against 8,” an award-winning HBO documentary focused on the battle to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriages. Chernin Entertainment and 20th Century Fox are producing.
The 2014 doc centered on Ted Olson and David Boies, two attorneys who joined forces to support couples who took Proposition 8 to court. The multi-year struggle led to proceedings at the Surpreme Court — and the long overdue ruling to legalize marriage for all gay Americans. Vanity Fair described the superlawyers’ journey as “one of the most unlikely partnerships in civil rights history”: Olson is a staunch Republican, Boies a committed Democrat.
This news comes just days after the announcement that Heller will be working on another high-profile gig: She’ll direct “The Force Awakens” breakout Daisy Ridley in the J.J. Abrams-produced fantasy thriller “Kolma.”
Heller was nominated for a 2016 DGA Award and won a 2016 Independent Spirit Award for “The Diary of a Teenage Girl.” She is part of the collective We Do It Together (WDIT), a non-profit production company with the goal of empowering women.
Learn more about Heller by listening to our podcast with her.
[via The Hollywood Reporter]
Originally published at blogs.indiewire.com on April 22, 2016.
