Oscar-winning actress Rachel Weisz has signed on to play Elizabeth Taylor in the upcoming biopic A Special Relationship. The film explores Taylor’s journey from actress to activist, and will be directed by the female directing duo BertBertie (Troop Zero).
Taylor was nominated for five Oscars throughout her career, and won two for her roles in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Butterfield 8. She was well known for her glamorous lifestyle, which included multiple marriages, and was a constant target of tabloids. Taylor however was also a crusader in the fight against AIDS, which started shortly after she hired Roger Wall to be her personal assistant in the mid-1980s. Wall was a gay man who grew up in poverty in the Deep South. The film will focus on Taylor’s relationship with Wall.
Weisz herself is no stranger to OScar awards, having been nominated twice, and winning for 2005’s A Constant Gardener. Producers Iain Canning and Emile Sherman told Variety that “Audiences are clearly fascinated by the private lives of iconic Hollywood stars. There is no one more iconic than Elizabeth Taylor, and Simon Beaufoy has written a role that shines a light on Elizabeth’s humor and humanity, which will be beautifully brought to life through the extraordinary talents of Rachel Weisz.” They went one to say the film “is a celebration of how friendships can change people’s lives, and how Elizabeth helped change the world.”
At this point there is no release date, but production is expected to start soon.