Casting Call: Skinny and Cat

In which we suggest who should star in the next big adaptation, remake, or historical film.

Last summer, Skinny and Cat, a film recounting the real-life romance between Depression-era photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White and author Erskine Caldwell, was ready to film. Barbara Streisand would direct the film, and Cate Blanchett and Colin Firth would star as the influential couple. Bourke-White and Caldwell were married from 1939 to 1942, and collaborated on works like You Have Seen Their Faces, a photo-documentary on poverty and social issues in the 1930s South. Streisand’s depiction of their love story, slated for 2014 release, was supposed to mark her return to work behind the camera after a 16-year hiatus in directing.

Then, Streisand dropped out. Blanchett followed suit. Firth’s attachment to the film is still murky, and the project seemed to jump back to square one. Indiewire reported this week, however, that Rachel Weisz, fresh from her highly praised turn in Terence Davies’ The Deep Blue Sea, will take Blanchett’s place. The film is currently floating around sans director, but if it manages to move forward, we have a few ideas as to who should accompany Weisz in a true tale of romance in tense times.

Casting Call runs every Friday. For more, click here.