January 4, 2012

Is Tilda Swinton "Your Auntie Mame"?

There was a delicious bit of potential movie news that I spotted on Popnography yesterday. Tilda Swinton, the intense and strangely beautiful actress known for her intense and strangely beautiful work in indies and studio films, is developing a remake of AUNTIE MAME, with herself in the titular role.  She discussed the project in a recent profile of her tagged to the new film WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN, in which she plays the mother of a murderous boy.

Given her previous roles, the comic and larger-than-life Mame would be something of a departure for her. But clearly it would be a great challenge as well, and she's always up for pushing her craft.  If they are considering going back to the source material which is the original novel by Patrick Dennis, the Mame of the book is not as fluffy as the one famously played by Rosalind Russell in the movie.  Mame is a bit of a bitch in fact, funny sure but also saucy and a little mean too.  Mame's rough edges were smoothed first for the play and then the movie version that truly made her a lovable, eccentric character for the ages.

Anyway, this MAME remake sounds like it's just in the talking stages right now, but it would certainly be interesting if they went back to the source, in the same way Todd Haynes' MILDRED PIERCE did, and uncover something new about this iconic character.

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