Times, they are a-changin’. And a Bob Dylan musical is about to hit the big screen.
Blueprint Pictures (the company behind “The Banshees of Inisherin”) announced today that Chlöe Bailey, Tosin Cole, Olivia Colman and Woody Harrelson will star in “Girl from the North Country,” an adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway show inspired by the music of Bob Dylan. The film will be written and directed by Conor McPherson, who wrote the book for the Broadway musical, and produced by Blueprint Pictures’ Graham Broadbent and Pete Czernin.
The well-reviewed musical, which had a brief, COVID-affected Broadway run after performing in London beginning in 2017 (as well as a stint in Toronto in 2019), is set in Duluth, Minnesota during the Great Depression where, according to the official synopsis, “a group of wayward travelers’ lives intersect in a guesthouse filled with music, life and hope.”
The synopsis continues: “Things are spiraling out of control for proprietor Nick Laine (Harrelson). His wife Elizabeth (Colman) is suffering from dementia. The bank is foreclosing on their home. Their adopted daughter, Marianne (Bailey), has a closely guarded secret that no one can explain. But when an escaped convict, Joe Scott (Cole) seeks shelter at the guesthouse, a relationship develops between Marianne and Joe that will change everything for everyone forever.” According to the synopsis, the Dylan songs (including “Slow Train,” ”True Love Tends to Forget” and, of course, “Girl from the North Country”) “give voice to the eternal struggle of the human spirit for every age.”
Colman and Harrelson are coming off of a very good 2022, with Colman appearing in Sam Mendes’ “Empire of Light” and Harrelson stealing scenes in the Oscar-nominated farce “Triangle of Sadness.” Colman will next be seen in Paul King’s “Wonka” this Christmas and on Marvel Studios’ upcoming Disney+ series “Secret Invasion,” while Harrelson will be in Focus Features’ comedy “Champions” and on the small screen in HBO’s “White House Plumbers,” about the Watergate conspiracy. Cole also had a terrific 2022 having co-starred in “Till,” while Bailey is known as a recording artist and one half of Chloe x Halle and for appearances on “grown•ish” and “black•ish.”
CAA Media Finance will represent the film’s domestic sales with Rocket Science launching international sales at the upcoming Berlin Film Festival.
