Polley to adapt Atwood
Toronto actress-turned-director Sarah Polley is adapting Margaret Atwood’s Giller Prize-winning novel Alias Grace for the big screen.
Polley’s celebrated directorial debut Away From Her, based on Alice Munro’s short story “The Bear Came Over the Mountain,” earned Polley an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Atwood’s book is based on a true story about a notorious Canadian 19th-century murder.
The project is one of 29 scripts being backed by Astral’s Harold Greenberg Fund, including a new political drama from Paul Haggis called Paris; a thriller from Splice director Vincenzo Natali called Nobody; the First Nations story Empire of Dirt from Defendor director Peter Stebbings; and the drama The Lion’s Share from Edwin Boyd creators Nathan Morlando and Allison Black. Street. The audience can weigh in with questions. Tickets available at www.ticketmaster.ca. Linda Barnard and each subsequent release generated greater attention from fans. Garnet Fraser thing CTV — its Canadian backer — did back in June. The series (which goes back into production next month) aired on CBS in the U.S. for four years before moving to ION.
Oscar organizers Wednesday announced 10 finalists for the visualeffects prize: Captain America: The First Avenger; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2; Hugo; Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol; Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides; Real Steel; Rise of the Planet of the Apes; Transformers: Dark of the Moon; The Tree of Life; and XMen: First Class.
Broadway producers said Wednesday that Hugh Jackman will have the title role in the musical Houdini, scheduled to reach Broadway during the 2013-14 season. Oscar- and Emmy-winner Aaron Sorkin of West Wing fame will write the story, and Oscar- and Grammy-winner Stephen Schwartz of Wicked fame will write music and lyrics.