Since we first heard about director Sacha Gervasi’s (Anvil!: The Story of Anvil) upcoming look at the life and work of legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, quite a bit of important casting has seemingly gone down. Variety reports that not only are age-old rumblings of Anthony Hopkins being attached to play the title character still holding up, but also that Helen Mirren has signed on to play Hitchcock’s wife, Alma. That’s a lot of pedigree for one movie to have, both in cast and subject matter, but the news doesn’t stop there.
Apparently the sweetest role in the pic is that of Janet Leigh, Hitchcock’s Psycho leading lady. Inside sources are saying that this is the sort of role that’s going to be grubbing for awards attention, like Michelle Williams’ turn as Marilyn Monroe did last year, and whoever lands it is bound to see their career get an uptick. So who’s getting the chance to play such a choice part? An actress who already has little trouble getting attention on her own, Scarlett Johansson.
Say what you will about the legendary status’ of Alfred Hitchcock, Anthony Hopkins, and Helen Mirren, but there’s a whole youth demographic that their names aren’t going to bring in, and a behind the scenes look at shooting a shower scene with Johansson just might. Factor in that Johansson is a promising actress who hasn’t gotten much dramatic material to sink her teeth into recently, and this casting could become a win-win for everybody.
This is a project that’s been gestating for a while, but that now seems to be full steam ahead toward production. So who wants to take bets in how long it will be before the studio changes Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho to a punchier title? Maybe something with a colon. Colons are in these days.