Back in January it was revealed that Weekend and Looking helmer Andrew Haigh was working on a biopic of legendary fashion designer Alexander McQueen. Now he’s found the man to play the central role, with THR reporting that Unbroken and Money Monster’s Jack O’Connell has signed on.
McQueen had a meteoric rise as a fashion designer, becoming renowned as one of the best in Britain by his early 20s, with his immaculate tailoring shocking, surprising and delighting fashion watchers in equal measure. He became one of the go-to designers for the hip and trendy, making outfits for David Bowie tours and working with Bjork (including directing the video for Alarm Call). He was appointed the head designer for Givenchy before launching his own successful label.
However, he also had issues with drug dependence and depression, and while he was openly gay (he said he knew he was gay when he was six and came out in his teens) he struggled to maintain relationships. He tragically committed suicide when he was just 40 years old, only days after his mother died of cancer.
The film will ‘explore the creative process of McQueen – who passed away in 2010 – in the months leading up to one of his greatest shows in 2009, providing an intimate portrait of the man behind the global brand.’
Chris Urch has written the script, based on Blood Beneath the Skin by Andrew Wilson. The current plan is to start shooting in January, with the hope it will be ready by the end of 2017 (and therefore a prime Oscar release slot).
After the success of his gay-themed movie Weekend, it was a good idea to hire Andrew Haigh to help develop the show Looking, but even he couldn’t overcome the difficulties the show faced, with the series getting cancelled after Season 2 (although a final, two-hour ‘movie’ will wrap things up).
Although the BAFTAs completely ignored it in favour of more commercial but often far less worthy fare, thankfully gay Brit-flick hit Weekend has been getting its dues at the likes of the British Independent Film Awards and the London Critics Circle Film Awards. The latest to honour the movie is the Evening Standard British Film Awards, which last night gave Weekend writer/director Andrew Haigh the Best Screenplay gong.
Although BAFTA should be hanging its head in shame for not even including Weekend on the longlist for any of its awards, the movie can take some solace from the fact the London Film Critics Circle has better taste, giving the film’s director, Andrew Haigh, the Breakthough British Film-maker award at its ceremony.
It’s just over a month until the BAFTA Film Awards are handed out on Sunday February 12th, and a couple weeks until the nominations are announced on January 17th. Ahead of that, BAFTA has released the longlist of potential nominees in each category.