The tabloids are abuzz with the news that Cate Blanchett and Mia Wasikowska have been confirmed as the leads in lesbian drama Carol.
The actresses will play lovers in the film, which will be directed by John Crowley (Boy A) and has been adapted from the Patricia Highsmith novella The Price of Salt by Phyllis Nagy.
Carol has been co-developed and co-financed by UK broadcaster Channel 4's filmmaking arm Film Arm. It tells the story of two very different women living in 1950s New York – one, a girl in her twenties working in a department store who dreams of a better life, the other, a wife trapped in a loveless marriage desperate to break free, but fearful of losing her daughter in the process.
The novella, which thriller writer Highsmith published in 1952 under the pseudonym Claire Morgan, was praised in its time for its optimistic ending – something not often found in lesbian-related fiction during that period.
In a statement, producers Stephen Woolley and Elizabeth Karlsen said they were thrilled to have recruited Blanchett and Wasikowska, describing them as two of the most talented actors working today.
Shooting is scheduled to begin in February 2013 in London and New York. International sales will be handled by Hanway at the Cannes Film Festival.