No, despite the subtitle, this story is not about a drama where the central figure overcomes enormous challenges to be the best sweeper in the world. Mandalay Pictures is intending to get Our Wild Life, a biopic of renowned wildlife conservationist Dame Daphne Sheldrick, up and running as a big, Gorillas in the Mist-style pic, and is after Nicole Kidman to star.
The Wrap has dug up the fact that Kidman’s been reading the script and likes what she sees, but that she hasn’t made any formal move to star in the film just yet so consider this rumour for now.
Sheldrick’s story is certainly a compelling one, with all the ingredients for a meaty, possibly award-worthy film if it’s cooked correctly: Sheldrick’s husband was the founder of Kenya’s huge Tsavo National Park. After his death in 1977, Sheldrick dedicated her life to living and working in the Nairobi National Park, going up against poachers and warlords to protect elephants and rhinos. She even hand-reared more than 70 of the animals and helped rescue others stolen from the parks.
Salt’s Phillip Noyce (who helped push Kidman towards superstardom with Dead Calm) is attached to direct the film, which could use some luck after a rough journey through development so far. Nick Cassavetes was attached to direct the movie back in 2009 when it was called Peaceable Kingdom, but was then fired, and sued then-rights holders New Line for breach of contract, claiming he was owed money for taking a crack at the script and for turning down other possible projects to focus on the biopic. Since then, Walter Salles flirted with the ides of directing the film, but ultimately passed.
If Mandalay and any eventual distributor can get a cast in place, the aim is to shoot the movie in September.