Angelic Australian actress Abbie Cornish (alliteration much) turned out a beautiful award-winning performance as John Keats’ love interest Fanny Brawne in the Jane Campion biopic Bright Star – a performance that may have inspired Madonna to cast the 27 year old in her second directorial feature film.
The first movie that Mads helmed, Filth And Wisdom was far from successful – copping scathing reviews from critics and barely nudging the box office ticket counter, and her next project W.E. is being co-written by Alek Keshishian – director of the super-intriguing vanity piece Madonna: Truth Or Dare that documented her 1990 Blonde Ambition world tour.
W.E. is about King Edward VIII – the British royal who famously abdicated his throne in the 1930s – thus causing a constitutional crisis to the British Empire – to marry a twice-divorced American socialite, Wallis Simpson (who will be played by Up In The Air‘s Vera Farmiga).
Cornish does bosom heaving period pieces well – as well as Bright Star she also appeared beside Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth: The Golden Age – so the only question is: does Madonna?
UPDATE: Ewan McGregor has also been added to the cast! It may be early days, but with an already stellar lineup of actors on board maybe this will be a turning point in the material girl’s film career.
W.E. is currently set for release in 2011.
Via Cinematical
Title Image by Frazer Harrison via Getty
