I Can’t Help It

Mere days after giving birth, Gwyneth Paltrow has lined up a new film to star in. Paltrow will produce and star in the biopic of screen legend Marlene Dietrich for Dreamwork studios. While the film does not have a script or a title yet, that's probably just as well, giving Gwyneth time to rest up and enjoy the new addition to her family while the film is in development. The film will be based on the memoirs of Dietrich's life written by her daughter Maria Riva. Paltrow and her fellow producers have secured the rights to the book and the co-operation of Dietrich's estate, something that should ensure considerable material on which to base the story. Dietrich was one of Germany's biggest cabaret stars in Berlin during the Weimar period after the horrors of World War One. She moved into a successful film career, but by the beginning of World War II her star was waning in Hollywood. Nevertheless, while Hitler attempted to lure her back to Germany with promises of wealth and fame, Dietrich stuck determinedly behind the Allies, landing in France to entertain the troops just three days after D-Day and even paying personal calls on potential Allied spies in Germany to persuade them to help the cause. After the war she built a singing career on her extraordinarily smoky voice, and retired at the age of 76 rather than allow the public to see her age. Her poise and perfectionism left their mark on the movies, so it seems high time for that ultimate of Hollywood accolades, the biopic. Dietrich's family hailed Paltrow's casting in the role. "She has the stillness required in an aristocrat, and the ability to plumb the depths of character without too much emotion, which was Marlene's trademark," said grandson Peter Rich. We just hope that Paltrow's German accent is as good as her English one.