Mike Fleming

BREAKING: Roman Polanski is set to direct a film adaptation of the David Ives play Venus in Fur. He’ll film in French and has set Emmanuelle Seigner and Louis Garrel in the lead roles. The show played Broadway and off-Broadway, and Nina Arianda won a Tony for Best Actress. Polanski will work on the erotic black comedy while awaiting completion of the screenplay for D., based on the historic Dreyfus scandal, which Polanski will direct as well. Seigner is Polanski’s wife.

“I’ve been looking for a chance to make a film in French with Emmanuelle for a long time,” said Polanski, who previously directed Seigner in Frantic and Bitter Moon. “Reading Venus in Fur I realized the moment had arrived. I got so fired up to put this brilliant black comedy on film that I decided to fit it in before D., whose screenplay and pre-production will demand a few more months. Louis Garrel and Emmanuelle Seigner will make for a stunning duo.”

Polanski will write the script with Ives and the filmmaker’s longtime collaborators Robert Benmussa and Alain Sarde, will produce. It will be independently financed and will begin filming in Paris this November. Lionsgate/Summit International will represent the film’s international sales and ICM will represent North American rights.