Remember When TV Used to be the Poor Man’s Cinema?
Not anymore. Cheap TV died with the laugh track and now not only are seriously heavy shows (Six Feet Under, The Wire) with seriously heavy scopes (Band of Brothers, The Pacific) becoming the new point to aspire to, but they’re also beginning to draw some serious actors (Paul Giamati, Kate Winslet).
Wait, Kate Winslet?!
Oh yeah! Variety reports that Winslet has signed on for a mini-series adaptation of James M. Cain’s novel Mildred Pierce, directed by another established film artist, Tod Haynes (I’m Not There, Far from Heaven).
The show will be set in 1930’s LA and Winslet will play the part of a middle-class, single mother attempting to maintain her and her family’s social position during the Great Depression. No network has picked up the ’series yet but rumor has that HBO might (what a surprise). Even if they don’t, though, how can this possibly be bad?
Cain’s story was already adapted into a film starring Joan Crawford (for which she won an Oscar, her only) in 1945. And even though I can’t say I’ve either read the book or seen Crawford’s movie, the female lead must be something to have won her the award. If there’s anyone who can stand in the shoes of an Oscar winner, though, maybe even top her, it’s Kate Winslet. I absolutely can’t wait for this.
This entry was posted on Saturday, August 15th, 2009 at 4:18 pm and is filed under television. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
