The film world seems to love having rival films about a subject at the moment, whether it's porn star Linda Lovelace or fairy tale princess Snow White. Now it seems there's another to add to the list - Effie Gray. Last month a movie about the 19th Century artist's muse, with Dakota Fanning in the lead role and Emma Thompson writing the script, started shooting. Now ThomsonOnHollywood says a rvial movie is in the works with Keira Knightley attached to the lead.
This version is called Untouched, and has House Of Sand director Andrucha Waddington onboard to helm. The film is currently at the American Film Market looking for backing, which it may find difficult to get, considering such a high-profile rival film is already shooting.
Effie Gray was a teenager who married famed London art critic John Ruskin (Greg Wise) in 1848, despite the fact he was more than 20 years her senior. The pairing turned out to be a disaster, with Ruskin refusing to consummate the marriage to his young bride. Even though Effie was considered extremely attractive, Ruskin was somehow repulsed by her body (the possibly apocryphal story is that having only seen nudes in art, he was horrified at the sight of his bride's pubic hair).
Effie eventually turned her affections to Ruskin's protege, John Everett Millais (Tom Sturridge), and became his muse. A love triangle developed, with Effie mariage to Ruskin eventually annulled, allowing her to marry the pre-raphaelite painter. It's a great story, so whether we get one film about it or two, it's a tale worth telling.