Sofia Coppola has lined up another costume drama — which also happens to be her first episodic television project. The “Beguiled” and “Marie Antoinette” filmmaker is developing a series adaptation of Edith Wharton’s 1913 novel “The Custom of the Country” for Apple TV+. According to Variety, the Oscar winner is set to write and direct the potential limited series.
“The Custom of the Country” sees young Midwestern woman Undine Spragg trying to rise through the ranks of New York society. Coppola called the character her “favorite literary anti-heroine.” She added, “I’m excited to bring her to the screen for the first time.”
In 2004, Coppola received an Oscar nomination for helming “Lost in Translation,” becoming the third woman ever to be recognized in the directing category. Only five women have ever secured a directing Oscar nod: Coppola, Lina Wertmüller, Jane Campion, Kathryn Bigelow, and Greta Gerwig. Bigelow is the only woman to take home the award.
Coppola won an Oscar for penning “Lost in Translation.” She reunited with that film’s star, Bill Murray, for the Netflix special “A Very Murray Christmas” and her next feature, father-daughter story “On the Rocks.” Rashida Jones co-stars in the latter.
In 2017, Coppola won Cannes’ best director honor for “The Beguiled,” becoming only the second woman to ever receive the award. Her other credits include “Somewhere,” “The Bling Ring,” and “The Virgin Suicides.”
“The Age of Innocence,” “The House of Mirth,” and “Ethan Frome” are among Wharton’s other works that have been adapted for the screen.