by Murtada
Rooney Mara and Sia is the collaboration we didn't know we wanted, but which makes perfect sense. Mara's impenetrability meshes well with Sia’s desire to remain unknowable. Not that Mara is playing Sia..
The film in question is Vox Lux, which will track Rooney Mara as pop star rising to superstardom, starting in 1999 until the present day. Sia will contribute original music. It is the sophomore effort of actor turned director Brady Corbet (The Childhood of a Leader). We hope that if he's influenced by just one of the many auteurs he's worked with (Michael Haneke, Lars Von Trier, Gregg Araki, etcetera), that it's Mia Hansen-Love (Eden). A sipirtual sequel to Eden would be heaven.
Meanwhile Mara's busy TIFF seems to have ended with a whimper. Nicole Kidman is what people want to talk about when they want to talk about Lion. Una, while getting good reviews and awards buzz for Mara and Ben Mendelsohn, remains without US distribution. And word was quiet on Jim Sheridan's The Secret Scripture --all we know is that Vanessa Redgrave wore a cool eye patch to the premiere. Mara soldiers on though making interesting choices. That Mary Magdalene movie is happening. It starts shooting next month and her Lion director, Gareth Davis, has put together quite the international cast to surround his leading lady. Joaquin Phoenix as Jesus, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Peter and Tahar Rahim as Judas.