Somewhere in 2015-16, Oscar-winning actress Julianne Moore could fall on hard times. The actress is attached to take on the role of Lee Israel (this NYTimes piece paints the picture on an interesting career choice for the biographer in question) in Nicole Holofcener’s sixth feature film, Can You Ever Forgive Me? for Fox Searchlight. Anne Carey who previously executive produced Holofcener’s Friends with Money will produce. Holofcener is probably on the last drafts of the project and we can almost guarantee that muse Catherine Keener is being considered for a supporting player part.
Gist: Based on the 2008 memoir by Lee Israel, Israel was a respected biographer who fell on hard times and turned to counterfeiting the letters of deceased writers and celebrities (Humphrey Bogart, Ernest Hemingway and a laundry list of other greats) in order to pay her rent. When the forgeries started to raise suspicion, she turned to stealing the actual letters from library archives and sold them through an ex-con fence she met in a bar, while the FBI was closing in on the scam.
Worth Noting: Holofcener recently had directing gigs for Parks and Recreation, Togetherness and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
Do We Care?: Several critics were partial to Enough Said, but this will serve as a “new page” of sorts for Holofcener with the embedded true story biographical elements and a much darker character than anything you might find in her filmography.
