Star power
BENEDICT Cumberbatch and Elisabeth Moss will star in Jane Campion’s new film, The Power Of The Dog, an adaptation of the Thomas Savage novel.
Campion will direct from a script she adapted, with See-saw Films’ in-house sales arm, Cross City Films, launching sales at this month’s Cannes Film Festival. The movie will go into pre-production at the end of the year.
“The Power Of The Dog is a sublime novel that deserves a life on the big screen. I couldn’t stop thinking about the story, it really haunted me. The themes of masculinity, nostalgia and betrayal are an intoxicating mix,” Campion said.
“It’s also rare to find a story where the themes, the plot and the characters build tension as they reveal each other and even the end is satisfying and unexpected. It will be the first time I’ve worked with a male lead, which is exciting.
“Phil is a charismatic and complex character who declares war on his brother’s new wife and her teenage son.”
The book tells the story of wealthy Montana brothers Phil (Cumberbatch) and George Burbank. Phil is brilliant and cruel, while George is fastidious and gentle. Together, they are joint owners of the biggest ranch in their Montana valley.
When George secretly marries local widow Rose (Moss), an angry Phil wages a relentless war to destroy her by using her son Peter as a pawn.
Campion won the Academy Award for screenplay for The Piano. She became the first, and to date only, female director to be awarded the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme D’OR.
Her limited series Top Of The Lake won the 2013 Emmy for cinematography for a miniseries or movie, as well as the 2014 Golden Globe for an actress in a miniseries or movie for Moss.
Campion created, co-wrote and directed the follow-up, Top Of The Lake: China Girl, which was one of the first TV series ever to be included in the Cannes Film Festival’s official selection. – Reuters