The Hollywood Reporter states that Nick Cassavetes (Alpha Dog, The Notebook) has signed on to direct the period love story The Beautiful and the Damned based on the love story between writers F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre with Keira Knightley in discussions for the latter role. It would continue Knightley’s run of period films after the recently-released The Duchess, last year’s Atoement and Silk, the adaptation of Pride & Prejudice and of course, the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies.
With a screenplay by Hanna Weg, the film revolves around the Jazz Age icons Fitzgerald, famed for writing “The Great Gatsby,” and Zayre known for living large, soaring high and crashing hard. Although they were both the toast of the town during the roaring ’20s, their courtship and marriage was festooned with jealousy and acrimony with both parties using the relationship as the basis for their various novels.
They hope to start shooting the film in April.
