The Picture of Dorian Gray - 'St. Vincent' to direct female-led film adaptation

[spanky87]

‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’: St. Vincent to Direct Female-Led Film Adaptation

Lionsgate has launched development of a movie based on Oscar Wilde’s 1890 novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” Variety has learned exclusively.

The studio is putting a twist on the classic Victorian age story of a hedonistic man whose self-portrait ages while he stays eternally young. In this project, the title character will be a woman.

The film will be directed by Annie Clark, a.k.a St. Vincent, the experimental rock multi-instrumentalist. Her album, the self-titled “St. Vincent,” won the Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 2015. She has been the recipient of the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award and the Q Maverick award, both given for outstanding innovation in the arts.

She made her filmmaking debut at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, where her short “Birthday Party,” premiered as a part of the female-driven “XX” horror anthology. She co-wrote, scored and directed the film, with Melanie Lynskey, Joe Swanberg and Sheila Vand starring. “XX” became available on Netflix in March.

David Birke has been hired to write the script. Birke wrote Paul Verhoeven’s thriller “Elle,” starring Isabelle Huppert. He also co-wrote the upcoming “Slender Man” horror film from Screen Gems, and is currently adapting the crime thriller “Alex” from Pierre Lemaitre’s novel.

Wilde’s original “The Picture of Dorian Gray” was the only novel he ever published. The story has been the basis of multiple movies with MGM’s 1945 version becoming the best known. That film starred Hurd Hatfield, George Sanders and Angela Lansbury, who received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress.

Birke and Clark are both repped by Paradigm.

SOURCE

[Foggy]

Can't be any worse than the he one that came out a few years ago.

[Mrdamron]

I love Annie, she is a true artist, so I'm excited to see what she does with this.

[CelluloidPal]

Originally Posted by spanky87

‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’: St. Vincent to Direct Female-Led Film Adaptation

SOURCE

Is this St. Vincent some kind of avant-garde underground artist? I've never heard of her so I can't truly comment on this as a whole.

[harpolini]

Is this St. Vincent some kind of avant-garde underground artist? I've never heard of her so I can't truly comment on this as a whole.

She has an avant-gard sound with pop elements similar to Kate Bush or Talking Heads. "Strange Mercy" is her most accessible and best (IMO) album.

[Gamma_Winstead]

OH GOD! she made that AWFUL "Happy Birthday" short from XX? Oh Jesus... this won't be good.

[CelluloidPal]

Originally Posted by harpolini

She has an avant-gard sound with pop elements similar to Kate Bush or Talking Heads. "Strange Mercy" is her most accessible and best (IMO) album.

Talking Heads, I know of. Kate Bush...not so much. I'm really not familiar with any of these new artists these days.

[CelluloidPal]

Originally Posted by Gamma_Winstead

OH GOD! she made that AWFUL "Happy Birthday" short from XX? Oh Jesus... this won't be good.

Is XX even any good? I haven't heard anything positive about it.

[P-Rock]

So, all female cast remakes are the new thing now?

[robgmun]

Originally Posted by P-Rock

So, all female cast remakes are the new thing now?

And they will keep failing until the studios learn.

[Moviefan2k4]

Originally Posted by robgmun

And they will keep failing until the studios learn.

You're assuming these idiots in charge of the studios have enough brain cells left, to learn anything.

[SethRex]

Why are we blaming the studios for movies failing? It's the people not going to see them that are causing them to fail. And that does not make a statement on the quality of the movie either. People are just hating these ideas on default.

[robgmun]

Originally Posted by SethRex

Why are we blaming the studios for movies failing? It's the people not going to see them that are causing them to fail. And that does not make a statement on the quality of the movie either. People are just hating these ideas on default.

That's like blaming the wife when she's getting beaten

[octagon]

Originally Posted by P-Rock

So, all female cast remakes are the new thing now?

It says female led, not all female.

[Gamma_Winstead]

Originally Posted by CelluloidPal

Is XX even any good? I haven't heard anything positive about it.

Not really. There's one decent short, but the other three range from "meh" to "absolutley abysmal". Happy birthday is especially bad. It just doesn't make sense or work on any level.

[SethRex]

Originally Posted by robgmun

That's like blaming the wife when she's getting beaten

How do you figure that one? I'm saying that studios make the movies, and whether they turn out good or bad doesn't matter if people aren't giving them the chance in the first place.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Can't be any worse than the he one that came out a few years ago.

And while the 45 version has a lot going for it I wouldn't say that's an untouchable classic either.