Last week we reported on a story in The Telegraph (and Variety) that said that Keira Knightley had officially won the role of Eliza Dolittle in a big screen remake of My Fair Lady, and that Atonement director Joe Wright would be helming the movie. At the time it seemed a fast move for Wright, as he’d literally only just discovered that his movie, Indian Summer, had been shelved not long before filming was due to begin.
Turns out the reason it seemed fast is because it isn’t true. Screenrush spoke to Joe on the red carpet for last week’s London Film Festival premiere of Nowehere Boy, where he said about his involvement with My Fair Lady that, “It’s not happening! It’s all a lie!”. While he admits that he was sent to script and thought about it for a couple of days, he then passed on the project, only to be shocked when it suddenly appeared in the press that he was indeed directing the movie.
It also puts in doubt the news that Keira Knightley will be in the lead role, which is good because she can’t act.
Despite numerous names, including Danny Boyle, being attached to the My Fair Lady remake, the director’s chair is still open. So who’s going to fill it? It’s easy to see why there’s a lot of trepidation, as the Rex Harrison/Audrey Hepburn version is a multi-Oscar winning classic, and the musical itself is considered by many to be the best ever written, so whoever does direct will have an awful lot of weight on their shoulders.