If we were all to make lists of the young faces in Hollywood who are clearly destined for acting greatness, chances are that Mia Wasikowska’s name would appear near the top of most. From her coming-of-age turn in The Kids Are All Right, to her period work in Jane Eyre, to the mountains of box office business she did with Alice in Wonderland, Wasikowska is an actress who has shown limitless potential up to this point. It’s not hard to imagine that if she stays her current course, she’s bound to become one of those actresses who has a number of gold statues sitting up on her mantle by the time she decides to call it quits.
So it’s with great interest that we follow the next few crucial steps that she takes on her career journey, and it just so happens some news on a new project the actress has signed on for has come out of Cannes today. Variety is reporting that Wasikowska has signed to star in Tracks, an adaptation of the memoirs of Robyn Davidson that’s set to be helmed by The Painted Veil and Stone director John Curran.
Davidson’s memoirs, of the same title as this adaptation, have become pretty beloved since their mid-90s publication. Amazon describes her book by saying, “A cult classic with an ever-growing audience, ‘Tracks’ is the brilliantly written and frequently hilarious account of a young woman’s odyssey through the deserts of Australia, with no one but her dog and four camels as companions. Davidson emerges as a heroine who combines extraordinary courage with exquisite sensitivity.”
Davidson took her actual journey in 1977, and had “National Geographic” photographer Rick Smolan along for the ride. One would think that her chronicled thoughts combined with his photo journal of the experience will make for a pretty damned good road map for Curran as he looks to turn this story into a film. Plus, it should afford Wasikowska the opportunity to not only act against some wide open spaces, but also don some ’70s-era garb and really get into the skin of her character.
Could Tracks prove to be the next big step that will help hoist Wasikowska into the upper-echelon of Hollywood? Who knows…but it should be a pretty interesting journey finding out.