Rachel Weisz to star as Elizabeth Taylor in new biopic
The Academy Award winner was renowned for her tireless HIV/Aids activism
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
Rachel Weisz will star as Elizabeth Taylor in a brand-new biopic.
According to Vogue, The Favourite star will bring to life the Academy Award winner to the big screen with Slumdog Millionaire scribe Simon Beaufoy writing the new screenplay.
The film – titled A Special Relationship – will tell the story of Taylor’s relationship with her personal secretary Roger Wall, a gay man who was raised in the Deep South where homophobia was the norm.
Taylor – who married seven different husbands – was an ally to the LGBTQ community and was almost as renowned for her tireless HIV/Aids activism as she was for her legendary screen appearances.
Taylor also developed a secret Dallas Buyers Club-style underground network to help get experimental HIV drugs to patients during the height of the crisis, despite the threat it posed to her own freedom.
And the new movie will focus on her activism and Beaufoy has based his screenplay on conversations with close friends of the actress.
Producers Iain Canning and Emile Sherman said: “There is no one more iconic than Elizabeth Taylor.
“Simon Beaufoy has written a role that shines a light on Elizabeth’s humour and humanity, which will be beautifully brought to life through the extraordinary talents of Rachel Weisz.”