With 21 Emmy nominations — more than any other television program — there is a reason why Todd Haynes‘ HBO mini-series “Mildred Pierce” has earned so much acclaim. It’s fucking great. Easily one of the best pieces of cinema we’ve seen this year on any size screen, it features career-best work from both Haynes and Kate Winslet (who is a lock to take home Outstanding Lead Actress In A Mini-series Or Movie) in a gorgeously put together melodrama that packs an emotional wallop. Yeah, we love it. And with news now that Haynes is going to return to the network with another project, we couldn’t be more excited.
Deadline reveals that Haynes is looking to re-team with his frequent collaborator Julianne Moore (“Safe,” “Far From Heaven,” “I’m Not There.“) for “Dope.” Based on the book by Sara Gran — who is also penning the screenplay — this will be another period tale, a noir-ish story set in the 1950s, that follows Josephine Flannigan, a former hooker and heroin addict who stumbles into the world of private investigation when she is hired by a wealthy couple to find their dope addicted daughter. The journey takes her through the dope dens and seedy underbelly of New York City. In short, it’s another rich world for Haynes to explore.
Haynes and Moore aren’t locked just yet, with Deadline saying the former will “potentially” take it on with the latter “circling,” but we don’t see either director or actress coming aboard without the other and at this point, it’s probably just a matter of negotiations and making sure everyone is cool with the script. It’s unclear if this “series” will be a single standalone series or a multi-part mini, so we’ll have to see how that pans out.
And though Haynes has yet to return to a theater near you since 2007’s “I’m Not There” it doesn’t seem as if he’s been lacking any of the resources at HBO that he would get from a movie studio. The Haynes/HBO partnership has been gangbusters so far, so no surprise he’ll stay where he can continue to pursue interesting work unfettered by the overseers of a studio. As for Moore, she continues to move where the good work is and “Dope” would mark another collaboration with the network, as she will also be starring in the HBO flick “Game Change” as Sarah Palin.
