Everything old is new again, and as such, Agatha Christie is suddenly having a bit of a moment. The queen of the murder mystery passed away in 1976, but she still sells millions of books a year, a TV adaptation of “And Then There Were None” was a big hit for the BBC late last year, and Kenneth Branagh is currently prepping an all-star remake of “Murder On The Orient Express.”
But we might just be getting started, because The Hollywood Reporter reveal that a pair of dueling biopics, “Capote”-style, are in the works from rival studios, with two A-list actresses being sought to play the writer. Sony’s approach, apparently called “Agatha Christie,” seems to be a more traditional biopic, painting the author as a ‘proto-feminist’ crossing paths with Arthur Conan Doyle and Winston Churchill, and the studio are said to want Alicia Vikander to play the title character there.
Meanwhile, Paramount have their own film, “Agatha,” and want Emma Stone to play the heroine there. Their version takes a bit more creative license: investigating what happened during her famous 11 day disappearance in 1926 (seemingly taking the same route as the 1979 film of the same name with Vanessa Redgrave and Dustin Hoffman), it was described last year as more of an “action adventure.” “Easy A” helmer Will Gluck was once attached to direct, though there’s no mention of whether he’s still involved now.
There’s a catch though: the Christie estate apparently needs to approve any film before it gets the green light, and that’s no easy process — the “Murder On The Orient Express” project apparently took seven years to get the thumbs up. Will it happen to both? Or neither? Stay tuned to find out.