Almost a year ago exactly, producers announced a new project called Grace of Monaco, which would tell the story of then-33-year-old Grace Kelly/Her Serene Highness Princess Grace, and the 1962 tax dispute between Monaco and France. The part of Grace Kelly would have been a huge “get” for most actresses, and many, many names were floated as possible candidates. None of those names were “Nicole Kidman”. But Nicole got the part anyway, much to my dismay (and the dismay of many others). It’s not that Nicole isn’t capable of the Grace Kelly-esque regal-ness or ice-princess-ness. It really is about AGE. Nicole is 45 years old, and she been ravaging her natural beauty with Botox and fillers and lip augmentation for years. She will never look 33 years old again.

So, these are the first photos from the Grace of Monaco set in Menton, France. Nicole has been talking about this role for a few months, and you could tell that she was super-excited to do it. Tim Roth is playing Prince Rainier III… that seems like a particularly bizarre choice too. Is it just me or has Nicole moved beyond the point where we can give her and her films the benefit of the doubt? Like… I thought Hemingway & Gellhorn sounded like an interesting project, but then I saw some clips of it, and it just seemed like Nicole was the most awful part. Is that how it is with her now? Too much Botox, too many bad movies (remember that one with Nicholas Cage?!), too much delusion about where her career should actually be right now.

As for these photos and how Nicole looks… her lips are still driving me crazy. Grace was not a strawberry blonde. And I don’t really understand why her costume is so oversized – I just checked Grace’s Wiki, she was not pregnant in 1962, so why the maternity clothes?

But yes, from a distance, she sort of resembles Grace. Squint and stand back a little. It’s not as awkwardly offensive as Naomi Watts as Princess Diana, but it’s still not great.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

Last year, producers announced a new film that caused a great deal of speculation. The film was called Grace of Monaco, and it would be about Princess Grace (Grace Kelly) in 1962, when France was basically trying to hijack Monaco as part of the republic. In 1962, Grace was 33 years old. So basically every blonde actress from 25 to 45 years old wanted to get the part. I ran through some options back in October - Charlize Theron, January Jones, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett and several more. You guys had lots of suggestions too, including Rosamund Pike and… Michelle Williams? Haha. Anyway, Grace has been cast. And it’s someone that no one considered: Nicole Kidman?!?!? UGH.

Nicole Kidman is in negotiations to portray Hollywood icon Grace Kelly in Grace of Monaco, the indie project centering on the actress-turned-princess from producer Pierre-Ange Le Pogam, sources confirm to The Hollywood Reporter. Le Pogam is the Europacorp co-founder who recently launched his Stone Angel production and financing company. He surprised many last fall when he beat out several other bidders to pick up Grace of Monaco as a spec script by Arash Amel.

Oliver Dahan, who directed Marion Cotillard to an Oscar for the Edith Piaf biopic La Vie en rose, is helming the period movie. Kidman is in the process of attaching herself to what is being envisioned as a $15 million producion and is being compared in tone to The King’s Speech.

Monaco isn’t a biopic and instead focuses on a six month period in 1962 when the city-state got into a heated dispute with France, which grew tired of the petite principality being a tax haven. Kelly, still relatively new in her role as princess, maneuvered behind the scenes to save Monaco from a coup. Le Pogam is producing and financing the picture.

Monaco is the second high-profile project in the works featuring Hollywood stars of the 1960s. Fox Searchlight is weeks away from Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho; the movie sees Anthony Hopkins playing the filmmaker, who incidentally directed Kelly in To Catch a Thief and Rear Window, and Scarlet Johansson as Janet Leigh.

Kelly was an actress who broke through playing opposite Gary Cooper in 1952’s High Noon and quickly became Alfred Hitchcock’s favorite blond with a trio of now classic films. She married Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1955 and soon retired from acting. Her death in 1982, after suffering a stroke and losing control of her car while driving the twisty streets of Monaco, shocked the world. Nearly 100 million people watched her funeral on TV.

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

Go ahead and call me an ageist, but I really do think Nicole is TOO OLD to play a 33-year-old Grace Kelly. And I’m seriously exhausted with the fact that Nicole is up for roles of 33-year-old characters, and that she thinks taking those parts are a great idea. Besides that, Nicole looks awful as a blonde. Sure, she’s graceful and elegant, like Grace. But I’m just not happy with this choice whatsoever, and I think Nicole and her crazy lips will screw this up completely.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

People have been talking about this for days now, and I apologize that it’s taken me this long to write about it. It seems that a film has just found its funding, and now there will be some kind of Grace Kelly film made. It’s not a bio-pic – thank God. It’s more in the vein of The King’s Speech and My Week With Marilyn and The Queen – showing a famous person through one of the most trying and difficult ordeals of their life. According to Deadline, this Grace Kelly – or rather, Her Serene Highness, Princess Grace – film will: “cover a half-year period in 1962, when French leader Charles De Gaulle and Monaco’s Prince Rainier III were at odds over Monaco’s standing as a tax haven. France gave Monaco six months to reform its tax laws, and the situation escalated. By that time, Kelly (33 at the time) had given up her acting career to become a full time princess, and the film details her political manuevering behind the scenes to save Monaco.”

So… Hollywood producers will be casting a Grace Kelly-type in her 30s to play the real Grace Kelly. And now everybody is in a tizzy about casting. Who should it be? I’ve included my thoughts on some various rumored nominees below. My idea of Grace is… beautiful, obviously. Beautiful, classy, and in no way trashy or budget or busted. Educated, clever AND street-smart. Witty, but not sarcastic. Regal but not patronizing. Elegant. Sassy, without the wink. Basically, there’s no one who could do it.

January Jones. She looks the most like Grace (sort of), but there are issues with January. I think she’s only capable of playing characters who are immature, haughty bitches. Plus, she might be smart in real life (debatable), but she is unable to come across as witty and intelligent on-screen.

Cate Blanchett. If only Cate could play EVERY lady. Ten years ago, Cate would have been the shoo-in. I think she might be too old to be considered at this point, which pains me. She would make a lovely Princess Grace.

Gwyneth Paltrow. Bitch wishes. She probably thinks she’s the lead candidate, and God knows, she might be. I hope producers understand that most people loathe her.

Rebecca Romijn. I just think she’ll be considered for the role at some point, and she’s not even the worse the possibility. She might be too… smiley and goofy, though.

Charlize Theron. Eh. I just don’t see it, personally. With Charlize, there’s always the problem of warmth. As in, she doesn’t have any.

Amber Heard. Just because she’s young and blonde and she has nice boobs – that alone will get her a reading. Plus, she’s like this year’s It Girl. There’s a resemblance to Grace too.

Diane Kruger. Pretty. But too German to play Grace – her accent is so strong! I don’t believe she could lose her accent convincingly.

And finally, Blake Lively. BITCH PLEASE.

UPDATE: I’m adding a few more photos of some of the suggestions you guys have listed. I refuse to acknowledge some of the ladies you’ve named, though. Amy Adams is too petite and cutesy. Emma Watson – are you joking? NO. Of the ladies you’ve come up with, I could maybe see Rosamund Pike, but only with looks. I doubt they would cast anyone but an American for Grace Kelly. Evan Rachel Wood is too young, but she would make an interesting Grace. Michelle Williams is too… hipster, too precious.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

This is lovely! Timeless beauty Grace Kelly is the cover girl for the May issue of Vanity Fair. I think it’s because there’s going to be a huge exhibit in London for Grace’s dresses, jewelry and, as VF puts it, her “accoutrements, from her Philadelphia society days to her Hollywood stardom, to her Monegasque princess hood.” VF has a gorgeous slideshow of Grace throughout the years (here for the slideshow), and they also have a cover story called “Grace Kelly’s Forever Look” – all about her timeless, iconic style. The author, Jane Bryant, “looks at the intertwined qualities of an icon: white-gloved ingénue, elegant goddess, passionate—and frankly sexual—romantic.” Full piece is here, and it’s too good to excerpts, so just go and read it!

In Bryant’s mind, the fascination with Grace really began with Rear Window. That’s my favorite Grace Kelly film – she’s absolutely perfect as a stylish New York magazine editor desperately in love with Jimmy Stewart’s photojournalist, and her love and passion for him takes her to surprising places. Here’s something I didn’t realize – Grace did Mogambo just before Rear Window. Have you ever seen Mogambo? It’s a very underrated film starring Grace, Clark Gable, and another one of my favorites, Ava Gardner. Anyway, it’s work a viewing if you love Grace. Before Grace left to become a princess, she had only made 11 films, and she was already one of the biggest stars in the world.

I can’t seem to get a good look at VF’s actual cover, so here are some more vintage images of Grace: