Famed “You Were Never Really Here” and “We Need to Talk About Kevin” director Lynne Ramsay has revealed the status of the various projects her name has been attached to in recent years.
Appearing at the Doha Film Institute for a Qumra meeting, she spoke to Screen Daily and says she hopes to begin filming her adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s short story “Stone Mattress” later this year with Julianne Moore and Sandra Oh still attached to star.
The story hails from the famed “The Handmaid’s Tale” author and follows a sixty-something woman who goes on a luxury Arctic cruise and onboard encounters a man who raped her five decades ago.
Ramsey says the project, which is set up at Amazon, boasts logistical challenges which are partly why it has taken so long to come together:
“It’s such a challenge, that film because it’s a boat in the Arctic – it [needs] all the elements aligning. I’m going to shoot it soon, but it’s still to be confirmed. With boats, it’s a logistical issue. I’ll never make a film in a boat again!”
The plan is to film on location in Greenland and it’s important to do so as there’s an “environmental catastrophe” subtext and how the woman’s personal trauma reflects the world’s environmental trauma.
She will also reunite with Joaquin Phoenix for “Polaris” which will also star his partner Rooney Mara. She won’t say what the film’s about but confirms she’s been wanting to do the original script for a long time.
Rameny is also set to direct an adaptation of Ariana Harwicz’s novel “Die, My Love” with Jennifer Lawrence to star in and produce:
“It’s something I’m working on. It’s super interesting material and really bold. I’m really excited by [it]. I love writing as well, so I’m kind of getting into that right now. There’s a beautiful simplicity with Die, My Love that I really liked; it’s simpler than a cruise.”
Then there’s her long-gestating adaptation of Herman Melville’s classic novel “Moby Dick” who says that the project’s stalling is “a budget thing”. She adds there “were loads of great ideas that came up with that” but as time has passed it has moved to the back of the queue.
