Todd Haynes will direct "Carol," an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's groundbreaking novella. In addition, The Weinstein Company has acquired U.S. rights for the lesbian love story from HanWay Films, the studio said Monday.
The erotic drama stars Cate Blanchett and Mia Wasikowska and is set in 1950s New York. It follows two women — one a department store work, the other a wife in a loveless marriage — who fall for each other.
The film reunites Blanchett with Haynes, who guided her to an Oscar nomination in 2007 for her cross-dressing embodiment of Bob Dylan in "I'm Not There."
Blanchett will next be seen in George Clooney's "The Monuments Men" and in two projects from Terrence Malick. Wasikowska, who turned heads in Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland," will soon appear opposite Jesse Eisenberg in the comedy "The Double."
Highsmith is best known for stories that often merge suspense and eroticism, such as "Strangers on a Train" and "The Talented Mr Ripley." "Carol" will be adapted by Phyllis Nagy, who previously wrote the HBO drama "Mrs. Harris."
It will be produced by Elizabeth Karlsen and Stephen Woolley from Number 9 Films, and is co-developed and co-financed by Film4. Christine Vachon’s Killer Films will co-produce.
Filming begins this October in London and New York.
