With a roster already set to include Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Tenet) and Michael Stuhlbarg (Shirley), Sam Taylor-Johnson’s ensemble drama Rothko is expanding its cast with the additions of Oscar winner Russell Crowe (Unhinged), Emmy nominee Jared Harris (Chernobyl) and Aisling Franciosi (The Nightingale), according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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The film, adapted from Lee Seldes’ The Legacy of Mark Rothko by Lara Wood, will center on the true story of Kate Rothko, daughter of celebrated painter Mark Rothko, as she enters a legal battle against his financial advisor and estate executors over the sales of her late father’s art in an effort to protect her late father’s legacy and bring his art back to the people.
“Rothko is not just a movie about the great artist, but rather a timeless story about right versus wrong,” Taylor-Johnson said in a statement. “It’s Kate Rothko’s journey to protect the seminal paintings from the corrupt men who betrayed her father and stole his art; it is a reckoning with men in positions of power who try everything to destroy her father’s legacy.“
Crowe is set to star in the film as Mark Rothko with Franciosi set to star as Kate Rothko, though Stuhlbarg, Harris and Taylor-Johnson’s roles are currently unknown. The project marks the first film for the Nowhere Boy helmer since her 2018 adaptation of A Million Little Pieces, which she co-wrote with husband and star Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
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Rothko is being produced by Jared Freedman (Like Water), David Silverton (Rising Son), Sam and Aaron Taylor-Johnson and executive produced by Jonathan Schwartz and Logan Lerman, with production currently eyeing a Summer 2021 start date.
(Photo Credit: Don Arnold/WireImage)
