Nicole Kidman and Ralph Fiennes to Star in 'The Reader'
Filed under: Drama, Romance, Awards, Casting, Scripts, War, Nicole Kidman
Variety is reporting that two of Hollywood's palest and chilliest stars are joining forces for The Reader. Nicole Kidman and Ralph Fiennes will star in the romance, which is to be based on the international bestselling novel by German writer Bernhard Schlink. IMDb lists Anthony Minghella as director of the film, but it appears that information is inaccurate or has changed. Minghella will produce, along with Sydney Pollack and Scott Rudin. Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot) is now set to direct the movie, and David Hare will write the script. The project is something of a reunion of the team that worked on 2002's The Hours. Daldry directed that film, Hare wrote it, Rudin produced it, and it won Kidman a Best Actress Oscar.The Reader is set in contemporary Germany, where "a man recounts the story of his erotic awakening in a covert love affair with an older woman in the wake of World War II." I assume Fiennes is playing the man recounting his story and Kidman is playing the older woman here? That might be tricky to pull off, considering Kidman is five years younger than Fiennes. And "erotic awakening?" I thought that term wasn't used outside of Cinemax plot descriptions. I must admit, I have a real problem getting into a lot of these period romance films, they all just sort of run together for me. I'm glad Minghella isn't at the wheel, though. Just writing that guy's name makes my eyelids heavy. The Reader was an Oprah's Book Club selection, and with her massive following, the film adaptation should have a built-in audience. Have any of our readers read The Reader? And can you say that three times fast? And what did you think of the book?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-20-2007 @ 11:47AM
Les said...
"The Reader" is a great book, and it is definitely not a standard period romance film. It's a chilling story that also raises important ethical issues.
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8-20-2007 @ 12:53PM
David said...
Yeah this is far from a regular romance. Fiennes' character is sorta like the narrator and recounts his love affair with Kidman when he was 15. Kidman's character is in her 30's. So it's not basic, lol. At all. Nicole's role is realllllly good. She's a Nazi supporter in WWII, and is actually illiterate. She can't read or write. But she gives Fienne's character (or a 15 year old version of his character so, in other words, they are going to have to cast a younger actor in that role) his sexual awakening. It's a heartbreaking and controversial novel. And what a team to bring it to life.
Can't wait.
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8-21-2007 @ 8:33AM
akilis said...
The Reader is not a period drama.
Advice to Patrick Walsh, when we are talking about adaptations, it means the book is chronicled, summarised somewhere on Amazon, Google, etc. It wouldn't more than 2 minutes to find out about it.
The Reader is 216 page book, a three part story about Michael Berg, a 15 year old who was in a sexual relationship with Hanna Schmitz, an enigmatic woman of 36 in 1958 (just 49 years ago).
Part One covers the relationship, the relationship lasted for some months and ended abruptly when Hanna packed up and left.
In Part Two, he saw her 8 years later when she appaeared in court, answering to crimes committed during WW2 as an SS guard in one of the concentration camps.
In Part Three, they exchanged correspondence while she was in prison, met once, spoke on the phone and then Hanna killed herself a day before her release.
The whole story is about the children and oncoming generation of Germans after the second world war, their response to the second world war, etc.
This is not a shmaltzy romance drama, it is dark, stark and tough. The role of Hanna is a once in a lifetime kind and will join Kidman's other roles like Anna (Birth), Isabel (Portrait of a Lady), Grace (Dogville/The Hours), etc. It is a very small movie but should cause a few tongues to wag for various reasons.
Kidman and Fiennes will only share the screen once in Part Three. Fiennes will probably do the narration if the go that way and play the much older Berg.
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8-21-2007 @ 10:03AM
Terri said...
The Reader is a terrific book. I read it many years ago when it first came on the market. I think it will be very difficult to film because it primarily reads through the thoughts of the young man. Anyway, it's a wonderful book and oddly sympathetic.
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8-21-2007 @ 10:32AM
Lori said...
You can keep it. I read the book when it came out and I have no desire to see Nicole Kidman having sex on screen with a child. It will get tongues waging alright. The backlash she got for Birth will be nothing compared to the potential backlash she'll get for this.
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8-21-2007 @ 5:40PM
akilis said...
Lori, backlash? what backlash? and why would she care about backlash? she still gets whatever roles she wants, works with the best directors and earns millions and she is supposed to care about backlash? lol
Since she made Birth, she has earned more than $60m and there is a backlash?
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11-06-2007 @ 4:36PM
barbarella said...
The Reader is an elegantly written, introspective and compulsively readable story. I agree with others who have suggested it is both evocative and disturbing. While giving Kidman, Fiennes et al their props, I'm not sure how well it will translate to the screen; depends on Hare's script. I believe I said the same about Schindler's List. Eager to see what happens here.
BTW, I second the comment of #3-Akilis to Walsh: Do your homework before you post.
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