While TV has consistently been luring actors to commit to miniseries or other projects, usually it has been to appear in front of the camera. Cate Blanchett is taking a different approach, developing and directing Stateless as a new drama.
The series, which has Elise McCredie on board to provide the script, is inspired by the true story of Cornelia Rau, a young German/Australian woman and former Qantas air steward who joined a cult in Sydney called Kenja Communication in 1998. After escaping the cult, her traumatic experience wasn’t over, as she was held at the Baxter detention centre in South Australia, accused of being an illegal immigrant and subjected to psychiatric evaluation. According to the press release that Deadline picked up from Screen Australia, the story will hit on themes of “identity, belonging and the extraordinary lengths people will go to find their place in the world.”
It’s not known when the series will go into production, or what its scope is – miniseries etc. – but it’s not that surprising to see Blanchett extend her directing ambitions from the theatre. She announced back in 2013 that she’d be directing an adaptation of Herman Koch novel** The Dinner, with Oren Moverman still at work on the script.