I’m still not over Nicole Kidman’s completely bonkers portrayal of Lucille Ball, but now I need to shift my focus to this: Rooney Mara as Audrey Hepburn. Apple is producing a feature film about Audrey Hepburn’s life, and Rooney Mara has signed on as the star and producer. Here are the details:
Apple has landed another big feature project, that being an Audrey Hepburn biopic which Oscar-nominated filmmaker Luca Guadagnino will helm, with 2x Oscar nominee Rooney Mara set to play The Breakfast at Tiffany‘s legendary actress.
Deadline has learned separately that Mara is also producing the feature project, which Michael Mitnick, the EP of HBO series Vinyl is writing. The movie reps Mara’s third producing credit after the documentary The End of Medicine and The Truth About Emmanuel.
Apple Studios is producing. Apple’s heads of worldwide video Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht and head of features Matt Dentler continue their momentum in building big screen fare for the streamer.
I’ll be honest, I actually do think Rooney looks somewhat Audrey-ish. People on Twitter are saying Lily Collins would have been a great choice, and I agree, although I think Rooney is probably a better actress. Both women are delicate beauties with similar features to Audrey, and Lily has those large, dark, Bambi eyes which are very reminiscent of Audrey’s eyes. The thing that I’m catching on about Rooney’s casting isn’t so much the look but the vibe. Audrey had that sparkle, the inner vivacity and sweetness. Rooney just seems like an awkward, morose goth chick compared to Hepburn. I know, I know, “acting” and all of that, but does Rooney have the range?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
Lily Collins will be able to pull off the accent not sure about Rooney Mara.
Fun fact Lily Collins husband, Charlie Macdowell, dated Mara for many years. So he has a type! I attended a panel that Rooney Mara was on at Santa Barbara film festival. She was painfully and awkwardly self conscious and shy. Shailene Woodward was on same panel and at 17 was so bubbly and out there. Interesting contrast between the two actresses.
I don’t know anything about Rooney’s acting skills, but I agree she has the right look to play Audrey. I remember being so pissed off as a teenager when Jennifer Love Hewitt tried to play her.
Watch Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I think she got award noms for her acting in that. I was blown away by her performance and how she transformed into the character. Also a great book if you’re looking for something to read lol.
I love the first three Lisbeth Salander books so much – and agree Rooney Mara was wonderful in the movies. One of my favorite celebrity gossip stories was her obsession with David Fincher and their weird relationship. Vanity Fair wrote a great article about it.
Thanks Zoro! I know what I’m doing after work lol
I still remember JLH trying to describe how she imitated Audrey’s accent: Pronounce Cs like Gs, so instead of saying cat, say gat.
I just cringed remembering JLH as Audrey Hepburn. Such a nightmare.
I know it’s the fastest route to an Oscar nomination/win (See: this year’s Best Actress frontrunners) but I’d wish these biopic would take a break. Off the top of my head I can think of a ton of upcoming: Astaire, Gene Kelly, Elvis, Peggy Lee, Bob Dylan, Pam and Tommy (so exploitive), Carolyn Bissett….
For most of those people I think that a movie about them now is very good timing and maybe almost to late for a few. In one generation or two not many people will remember them or will be interested at seeing about them and they will be forever forgotten.
Nah. There’s always room for these because I believe it necessary for younger viewers. Keep people and their contributions, both positive and negative, alive. Any historical project with a modicum of merit deserves an opportunity to air.
I will watch the bejesus out of a film about Carolyn bessette!
I’ll buy the popcorn 🍿
Saaaame! Someone make this happen!
“ The thing that I’m catching on about Rooney’s casting isn’t so much the look but the vibe. Audrey had that sparkle, the inner vivacity and sweetness. Rooney just seems like an awkward, morose goth chick compared to Hepburn.”
This. It’s not just the look but Audrey’s spirit that’s impossible to capture.
Audrey was both severe and soft at the same time. The dark eyebrows, short chopped hair and extreme slenderness all could have given her a hard edge more like Rooney. But she had such a softness, sweetness about her also, and that’s what I don’t see happening with Rooney. But maybe she will pull it off!
Audrey’s weight, her extreme slenderness, was something that pained her, she had said. She was one of those women who couldn’t gain much weight. Not a problem I relate to lol but it’s a reminder that every woman in every body has her own private struggles. And we are all beautiful to others in our own ways, despite how we beat ourselves up at times.
I’ve read her extreme slenderness because she was malnourished as an adolescent due to the war. So, I can see why that would be especially painful for her.
During the war she literally had to eat out of garbage cans. She picked up some parasites that ravaged her digestive system and had to be very careful about what and how much she ate and drank after that.
My friend finds it impossible to gain weight and it’s really hard for her. But it’s also not something she feels she can discuss with most people because complaining about being too thin doesn’t get you much sympathy. Thin women struggle too, she hates having no bum or curves and it’s difficult to find clothes that don’t sag in the wrong areas and look unflattering.
I agree that being Audrey goes beyond looking and dressing like Audrey. I feel like the actress portraying her needs some of that European background and culture that Audrey had. Rooney has an interesting look but a totally basic vibe.
I wonder how well either Mara or Collins can act to tap into Audrey’s psyche. Both of them grew up very privileged. Audrey, on the other hand, endured great hardship during her childhood. She was so thin as an adult because she nearly starved to death during WWII. Do either of them have the skills to be able to convey how something like that informed Audrey’s adulthood?
I don’t believe actors have to have similar life experiences as people they are portraying to do a great job. But I don’t think either of the actresses mentioned are right to play AH. Rooney lacks a light and softness about her that others posters have noted and Lily Collins just seems silly to me. Anyway, I’m tired of bio pics. I’ve always had a hard time suspending disbelief when watching them.
Hepburn worked for the Resistance during WWII, so there was a lot of steel underneath the Givenchy,
Rooney went to NYU and comes from some deeep pocket money (both sides of grandparents own NFL teams and the families are very involved with philanthropy and whatnot in their respective cities of New York and Pittsburgh), so she’s not exactly from a hardscrabble background. As was said in the post and in the comments, she doesn’t seem to have the kind of effervescence and charm Hepburn had. And there’s nothing in her resume to suggest she’s ever played roles that require anything beyond “aloof.”
Eh, we rarely make a fuss when non-American, particularly British, actors play American icons, so I don’t see why we should be so careful when American actors play non-American icons, particularly when the icons in question spent most of their adult living or working in the US anyway.
Great casting.
As with Kidman…Rooney can act…I watched the Ricardo movie & I had no problem with Kidman’s performance…it was wonderful…the problem was with Sorkin producing a standard American biopic that sucks ALL the life out of the subject matter…hopefully with this Director that won’t be an issue…so I’m looking forward to this….
I agree with your summary of Being the Ricardos.
Yeah, I couldn’t get through Being the Ricardos. It felt so lifeless and dull.
I thought Kidman was great actually. The voice was eerily similar to Lucy! It was the movie itself that was long and boring….
Audrey had an onscreen aura that was more charming, cheeky and warm than Mara, while Mara’s screen presence is more aloof and clinically patrician. Will be interesting to see if she can act her way to capturing Audrey’s unique x-factor.
If it’s a “biopic” it will suck. If it’s a movie about a brief period in her life that uses the moment to examine the whole, like Spencer, it has a chance. Audrey did not have an easy life. Mara could play that side of it very well. Just saw Nightmare Alley, she was very good in it, able to make us understand why Bradley Cooper was making terrible life decisions because of her.
I actually think Rooney looks more like Audrey than Lilly does, and I think Rooney is a good actress. But, like kristen stewart with Diana…its not so much whether she looks like Audrey, can she capture that “certain something” that made Audrey stand out? I think Stewart did an okay job capturing that aspect of Diana’s personality (even though I thought her actual acting in Spencer was good overall). Maybe Rooney can do a better job with Audrey.
(and i’m currently reading Andrew Morton’s book on Wallis Simpson and I have to say, I think Rooney Mara could play a good Wallis.)
Rooney could play a great Wallis.
Mara played it sweet in her newest movie nightmare alley. So much so that she was forgettable (let’s be real, its the bad girls we remember). I think she’s a lot closer to the look of the subject than Nicole as Lucy or Kristin as Diana, so it’s bound to bug me less (although I admit I have not seen Diana, so if Kristin comes close I would be impressed).
Rooney Mara is a much better actress than Lily Collins. It all comes down to the script but if it is a good one, this should be a good performance
Lily Collins is an awful actress so I’m happy that it’ Rooney who will play Audrey.
I don’t really care for either choice, but I do think Rooney is a better choice than Lily. I’ve seen Lily in several movies and shows where she plays slight variations of the same character (always bubbly) and I don’t think she could pull of Audrey’s wryness.
This will sound dumb, but as I approach 30 I’m realizing a lot of my cultural touchstones are just now being “discovered” by Gen Z. I can totally see some of this new hip generation suddenly becoming obsessed with Holly Golightly and wearing the pearls and tiara and turning it into a trend. Which to be fair is harmless but it’s also like GET OFF OF MY LAWN.
Lily Collins has always been obsessed with Audrey Hepburn and tries way too hard to look like her. It’s kinda funny that she didn’t get the role.
Back in the days of Ally MacBeal, I saw Callista Flockheart as the natural choice to play Audrey H. But sure, Rooney can take a shot at it. Physically she’s a match, and her acting chops are strong—let’s give her a chance.
Now, can we talk about A Discovery of Witches?! Matthew Goode oh so yummy? The beautiful Teresa Palmer? C’mon—anyone else watch this? Season 3 is launching! Kaiser, please start a thread!!
I vote neither, both actresses lack the range. Can’t wait for season 3 of ADoW.
I think Mara is an incredible actress, and will do well with this role as well.
I think Rooney can pull it off. I’m most interested in which periods of Audrey’s life this will focus on. I think Rooney could play her in several different periods. Audrey was sweet, but she also carried a lot of sadness. She always seemed to want to be loved but had a hard time finding love until she met Robert Wolders. And she adored her children. In her search for love, she reminds me of Marilyn Monroe, which is funny since Marilyn was Truman Capote’s choice to play Holly Golightly.
If anyone is interested, there’s currently a documentary about Hepburn on Netflix (“Audrey”).
Rooney is a better actress than Lily, and I think she’ll be able to capture Audrey Hepburn’s aura. No, she’s not like Audrey IRL, but she is very talented and I trust she can transform herself accordingly.
Rooney Mara, as many stated upthread, is a good actress. There is an air of mystery surrounding her that makes her work in films exciting. I am happy that she is expanding and growing. Looking forward to this biopic, although I greatly admire Audrey, the humanitarian, it would be more of her work and life as an actress.
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Her role in Carol was styled to look like Audrey Hepburn. I remember wondering when she would be cast in a biopic. Here it is!
Yep she did look like Audrey in that movie. I watched her in GWTDT and I think she can act. Not the best range but better than Lily (to me) so I think it’s a good casting. Do we need another biopic? Not really.
An actress who plays Audrey really needs those big dark eyes, and Rooney’s light eyes would really make it hard for me to watch and believe her portrayal IMO.
Contacts?
This is a choice Rooney will have to apologize for in the future.
I remember when Jennifer Hewitt was obsessed with Audrey. She probably still is and she made that horrible film about her and was awful in it. I think Rooney will do an amazing job playing Audrey.
So to the comments about Audrey not being able to gain weight because of deprivation during the war, Audrey did have health issues later in life but as an adult in her early twenties she did easily gain weight when traveling to New York for the first time. She was then put on a diet while rehearsing for a play.
Also she often talked about her discipline with food. This is not a knock against her at all but Audrey very likely did have disordered eating habits.
Yes. I think it needs to be said that these were the Velma Todd ‘Potato Clause’ days, when gaining 5 lbs could mean you lost the film and might never get another phone call again. She may have had health issues, but adult women who are as tall and long limbed as Audrey was, don’t stay 85-90 lbs for their entire careers without some type of disordered eating habit.
I could see this casting with dark contacts, lashes, and prosthetics for her iconic nose shape.
Audrey Tatou would’ve been perfect.
I think she’s perfect
A memory of Audrey Hepburn: I was young when she was a star and noticed that at award’s shows she would often have written a short (4-10 lines?) poem in honor of the subject. The poetry was great: how difficult to have the wit and intelligence and the cadence of the language to pull off an ode to Gary Cooper or William Wyler. I am fairly certain that the poetry was authentically her own words.
I admired her also for (more or less) quitting Hollywood and avoiding the cult of plastic surgery and designer outfits and understand that working with poor children would be more satisfying than the rather tedious Hollywood work.
Wish we were discussing that the movie is being written, produced, directed by entirely men, rather than discussing who has the best face shape (or whatever) for the role. Sigh
I couldn’t agree more about Nicole Kidman in the I Love Lucy biopic. She looked crazy and I didn’t care for her portrayal of Lucy as a grim, unsmiling and ultra-aloof. I dont know if this sounds sh$tty, but i kind of feel like Nicole Kidman just will NOT get out of my face, particularly with HBO. It seems like at any given time, there’s an HBO miniseries starring Nicole Kidman. Imo she needs to give people a chance to MISS her, and to get excited about her being in something.
But back to Roony Mara as Audrey Hepburn, I actually think she’ll be great! Roony has a couple annoying qualities but overall I think she’s a very talented actress who takes her work seriously, can do “heavy” material (not that the Hepburn biopic will be heavy I don’t know) and it doesn’t hurt that the she physically resembles Hepburn in a lot of ways (I’m looking at you Nicole/”Lucy”). I also like that Roony is media-shy. I don’t know why, it’s just something I tend to respect in actors. It makes me think they’re doing it not for the fame
I think because Rooney is the stronger actress she’s a better pick than Collins for the role. Collins has the sweetness, but Audrey also had a good bit of steel in there. She was a survivor and she could be hard edged despite the sweet, softness of her face and her overall look. I think it will be easier for Rooney to portray the sweet than it would be for Collins to portray any real steel.
There are probably some better choices than Rooney for the role but comparing Rooney to Collins, I’d easily choose Rooney.
Why is Breakfast at Tiffany’s still held in high regard when it features Mickey Rooney playing such a racist caricature?
It definitely hasn’t aged well. I think you would be hard pressed to find a ‘classic’ movie made before 1960 (and even perhaps after) that doesn’t include some whacked out, racist, misogynistic, or sexist bullsh*t of some kind…
That said, people had to know that character was pretty f*cked, even for back then
Rooney is about as charming and sparkling as a lead balloon. She always looks dour and solemn. I don’t particularly like Lily more, but at least she’s not a lead balloon.
I think this is fantastic casting and she’ll knock it out of the park. After Joaquin’s Oscar it’s her turn next.
I hope she does well but she will not be able to replicate Audrey’s charm, accent or star quality.
Heck no to Lily Collins playing the role!!
What about Audrey Tautou – she’s even named after her!