Sean Durkin, the director of fantastic, creepy cult drama Martha Marcy May Marlene, is embarking on a Janis Joplin biopic project. He just selected recent Tony award winner Nina Arianda to play the wild counterculture rebel of the ‘60s.
It’s great to see such a young, talented pair team up. Marlene was Durkin’s feature film debut, drawing massive praise for its psychological eeriness and pitch-perfect performances. Arianda has already made quite the splash as well, snagging a Tony after only making her Broadway debut in April 2011. She won for the role of Vanda in David Ives’ Venus in Fur, which is a two-person comedy-drama that chronicles a day of auditions for a writer-director. Vanda exemplifies everything that the writer is trying to avoid, yet eventually she comes to dominate him, as she attempts to land the lead role in his adaptation of an erotic novel. Sexy times.
Amy Adams was in talks to play Joplin a while ago, which I could see working, but it’s nice that Arianda is getting the chance to really break into film. As if it’s not impressive enough to be under 30 and have a Tony. Raise that bar kiddo.
Follow on Ology: Gideon Resnick | FilmOlogy
Follow on Twitter: @GideonResnick | @Film_Ology
[Los Angeles Times]
Comments (1)