She may already be a classic beauty, but Rachel Weisz is going all-out Old Hollywood as she circles the role of Hedy Lamarr for a film by Amy Redford.
The indie biopic, named Face Value, originally had Charlize Theron rumoured for the role, which will show the eccentric post-WWII actress' career, including a sideline in scientific research into wireless technology.
Known best for her lead turn in Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah, Lamarr was nicknamed The most Beautiful Woman In Films by her contemporaries, and was one of the most gifted actresses in old Hollywood town.
Motorcycle Diaries scribe Jose Rivera penned the script along with Gretchen Somerfeld, and the movie will be made with a TFI Sloan Filmmaker grant which the project was awarded from the Sundance Institute (hmm, nepotism? Amy Redford is Sundance founder Robert's daughter. But then, if she's inherited his filmmaking skills, it's probably fair enough).
Weisz, who has built her career on blockbusters like The Mummy interspersed with dramas such as The Constant Gardener is up next in Alejandro Amenabar's Agora as well as con-man period piece The Brothers Bloom. She is also set to star as a police officer who exposes a list of atrocities in war-torn Bosnia in The Whistleblower.
So can Weisz match up to the Hedy mix of beauty and brains of la Lamarr?