I feel like there are always Hollywood whispers about an Audrey Hepburn biopic being in development, and understandably so. Audrey is an incredibly likable figure: talented, stunning, and actually decent. In recent years, the rumors have linked Rooney Mara and Ariana Grande to projects, but this week a film was officially confirmed with a different actress set to play the icon: Lily Collins. Visually, it’s perfect casting. Lily has given Audrey Hepburn vibes from the star of her (Lily’s) career. And it turns out this movie isn’t a straight up biopic, but an adaptation of a 2010 book about the making of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, one of Audrey’s most popular and enduring roles. The book is (takes a deep breath) Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and the Dawn of the Modern Woman. Lily, for her part, took to Instagram to describe her inexpressible joy:
Lily Collins is set to play Audrey Hepburn in an upcoming movie about the making of 1961’s classic film Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and she couldn’t be more excited about the role.
“It’s with almost 10 years of development,” she wrote alongside the announcement on Instagram Feb. 23, “and a lifetime of admiration and adoration for Audrey that I’m finally able to share this. Honored and ecstatic don’t begin to express how I feel…”
The forthcoming film will be adapted by Dickinson’s Alena Smith, with the basis of the story coming from Sam Wasson’s 2010 book Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and the Dawn of the Modern Woman, which was released in 2010.
Though the Emily in Paris star will soon don Audrey’s iconic baby bangs on the big screen, she’s previously shared glimpses into how the Roman Holiday actress has inspired her.
And ahead of Lily’s casting, her father-in-law Malcolm McDowell—Lily is married to his and Mary Steenburgen’s son Charlie McDowell—detailed the shared qualities between her and the classic Hollywood legend.
“Lily is absolutely a star,” the Clockwork Orange actor told People in 2024. “I’m in awe of her work. I think she’s one of the best young actresses around. I love watching her — she’s got that Audrey Hepburn kind of thing going, which is indefinable in a way, but it’s there.”
The film is just one of many acting projects coming up for Lily, who is set to appear in the upcoming film Close Personal Friends alongside Brie Larson and Meghan Markle, which will mark the Duchess of Sussex’s first acting gig since she left Suits seven years ago.
Lily, 36, will also continue her leading role in Emily in Paris when the Netflix hit returns for a sixth season, the streamer confirmed back in January.
When Lily says “with almost 10 years of development,” does she mean she’s been part of the development team all that time? The Hollywood Reporter lists Case Study as a developing producer, and that’s Lily’s production company with her husband Charlie McDowell. But has she really been developing this since she was 26?! In any event, I bought Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. in hardcover back when it first came out and it’s a thoroughly engaging read. Sam Wasson is also the biographer behind Fosse, the source material for FX’s Fosse/Verdon, so we know his books can make for fantastic adaptations. Like I said earlier, Lily as Audrey Hepburn makes a lot of sense. So I’m actually kind of more interested in how the rest of the casting shakes out. Truman Capote is having such a moment! Though the series was uneven, Tom Hollander was outstanding in Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, while Jeffrey Tyler Ferguson is playing him off Broadway next month, and even a contestant on this season’s Drag Race did a killer Capote impression on Snatch Game! So who’s up next? I also feel like whoever gets to play Edith Head has the chance to be a scene stealer. So yeah, I’m looking forward to this movie. Though in all honesty, my memory of reading Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. is that I walked away thinking, “isn’t it time for an adaptation of ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ that’s more true to the original story?” As in, without the hetero-washing of everything? I’d like to see that film made, too.
Photos credit: Bud Fraker via Wikipedia Commons, Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon, Netflix press and Getty Images
So many projects are announced and never come to fruition. That was the case with the Rooney Mara project—fortunately! Who wants to see Rooney Mara as Audrey? But this sounds further along in development. It is a very solid book for adaptation. My only criticism of the book is that Wasson tended to infantalize Audrey in places. I’m not at all sure she was as reluctant to take on the “risque” role as he suggests. I wonder who will play the villain, also known as Mel Ferrer. Lordy, he was a lot! 🤔
She’s been cosplaying as Audrey her whole career.