I am fanatically devoted to silent film, not exactly because of their the plots or set designs, but because of the way the transformed the entertainment and film industry. So when I heard that Jennifer DeLia and Julie Pacino were beginning work on a biopic of America’s Sweetheart, Mary Pickford, I quickly became excited.
The film is to be based upon Eileen Whitford‘s biography Pickford: The Woman Who Made Hollywood. It will cover the silent film star’s life including her career in hundreds of shorts and feature length films and her interactions with other major stars such as Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin and D.W. Griffith.
The biopic is also said to cover Pickford’s founding of the United Artists and her role in the creation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. In truth, there is a lot of ground to cover and it will be interesting to see how DeLia and Pacino along with writer Josh Fagin (Warrior) deal with Pickford’s life.
Lily Rabe (American Horror Story) will take on the role of Mary Pickford and Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) is interested in directing the film, though early reports placed producer Jennifer DeLia as taking the director’s chair.
The big news of the week, however, is that the producers, according to Forbes (via ThePlaylist), are hoping to get Jude Law to play the role of Pickford’s husband and film star, Douglas Fairbanks. Fairbanks, known as “The King of Hollywood,” was famous for his adventurous and swashbuckling roles in films such as The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood and The Mark of Zorro. Mary Pickford and Fairbanks were married in 1920, until the divorced in 1936.
I think that the producers are definitely on to something with Jude Law, whose physique already resembles Fairbanks. The actor has a classic touch to all that he does that I think would make him perfect for the role. He also has that suave charm that would work well.
Though not confirmed yet, we’ll keep you posted on if Law signs on or not.
