Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman looks set to join the cast of How to Talk to Girls at Parties, a sci-fi comedy romance from Hedwig and the Angry Inch’s John Cameron Mitchell, based on Neil Gaiman’s short story, reports Screen Daily.
Elle Fanning is taking the lead role in the movie, which is described as Romeo and Juliet with punks and aliens (replacing the Montagues and Capulets). She plays an extra-terrestrial visitor to Earth who meets two teenage boys in the most dangerous spot on the planet: the London borough of Croydon in the 1970s.
It’s not clear what role Kidman might take in the film. The Australian actor was Oscar-nominated for her turn as a grieving mother in the 2010 drama Rabbit Hole, which Mitchell directed. The New York-born actor and film-maker is also writing the screenplay with Little Ashes’ Philippa Goslett.
Producer Howard Gertler told Screen: “Nicole responded very quickly and enthusiastically to the script when John sent it to her. This is a story that appeals to teens and adults, something John and Neil Gaiman’s work also achieves, and that is why it’s such a good fit. John compares it to Romeo and Juliet, except instead of Montagues and Capulets we have punks and aliens.”
Kidman is understood to be in advanced negotiations to join How to Talk to Girls at Parties. Ruth Wilson, best known for Luther and The Affair, and Matt Lucas have also joined the cast for the film, which will be touted to buyers at this week’s Cannes film festival. Mitchell aims to shoot in the UK this Autumn.
