Michelle Williams is no stranger to Hollywood’s awards circuit. Since her compelling, Oscar-worthy turn in Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine, the actress has gone on to land a series of prestigious nominations through the years, most of which can be traced back to her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn.
Fast forward to the present day and, as the industry’s elite gear up for the 89th Academy Awards, Michelle Williams is a hot favorite to scoop up her second Oscar for her role in Manchester By the Sea. The Dolby Theatre will play host to Hollywood’s biggest night on Sunday, February 26th, but Williams is already thinking further afield. According to Deadline, the Oscar-winner has entered talks to join Jonah Hill for his directorial debut Mid-90s, a coming-of-age skateboarding drama likened to gritty British indie dramas in the vein of Kids or This is England.
Hill is the brains behind the screenplay, and we understand his embryonic passion project follows “Stevie as he struggles with the various roles he must play in life: surrogate partner to his co-dependent single mother (Williams), receiver of abuse from his troubled older brother, and invisible stand-in to his wealthier school friends.”
Fresh off his turn in Judd Apatow’s War Dogs, Jonah Hill previously offered up some context to the nostalgic project, stating that:
“It’s sort of like a coming-of-age drama—it’s the most boring elevator pitch in the world, but it takes place in a skateboarding scene in the mid-90s in L.A…. Skateboarding’s always been put on screen as a joke or an 80s cowabunga kind of trope, and it’s more in the tone of Kids or This Is England. Those are kind of the movies that I’m influenced by the most.”
Filming on Mid-90s is due to commence in June. Williams, meanwhile, is one of five actresses in the running for that coveted statuette – Nicole Kidman, Octavia Spencer, Viola Davis and Moonlight‘s Naomie Harris round out the Best Supporting Actress category – and we’ll find out whether the Manchester By the Sea alum can fend off the competition in about a month’s time.
