With stellar supporting turns last year in “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Les Miserables,” and a Golden Globe win for the latter this past weekend, it’s safe to say that Anne Hathaway has gained some considerable clout. The Wrap is reporting that the Oscar nominee has already lined up her next project, a starring role in an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew.”
Set to be written by “Shame” and “The Iron Lady” screenwriter Abi Morgan, the film will apparently take place in “mid-20th century Italy,” which is a pretty broad description, so we’ll have to wait and see how it all shakes out. There’s currently no director attached or start date set for production, so we'll have to see where this lands in Hathaway's post-awards-season schedule. We imagine she'll have lots of opportunities to choose from.
This isn’t the first time Shakespeare’s classic play has dropped its original time period. It was last updated in 1999’s “10 Things I Hate About You,” which featured Hathaway’s 'Rises' co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt. And of course, there are the numerous straightahead adaptations, perhaps the highlight being the Franco Zeffirelli-directed version starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Let us know about your favorite Shakespeare film adaptations below, and what you think about the new setting for “Taming of the Shrew.”