Director Pablo Larraín has created a niche for himself with his depiction of powerful women in history, beginning with Jackie Kennedy, played by Oscar nominee Natalie Portman in “Jackie,” and now Princess Diana through the lens of Kristen Stewart in his newest film “Spencer.”
For an upcoming episode of the “Variety Awards Circuit Podcast,” Larraín tells Variety that his next entry of this type of reimagined biopic would be his last of this particular string of filmmaking, culminating in a trilogy.
“I don’t want to spend my whole life doing these types of movies,” he says. “I love them, but I think it’s good to put an end to it.”
Still unsure about who he would focus on when asked if it would be a woman or if he would be open to focusing on a man, Larraín says, “No, it will be a lady with heels.”
Internet chatter has been ablaze with calls for Larraín’s next biopic entry to cover pop star Britney Spears, who has been a focus of conservatorship abuse and is expected to be released from it later this month. He shares that he feels he’s not the right person to focus on Spears.
“I am very curious,” he says regarding Spears as a subject of a biopic. “In particular, her relationship with media. I’ve worked with certain people’s lives, and it’s never really a biopic. I think the biopic concept is a bit of a fantasy. What would be odd is making a movie about someone like Britney Spears, and who will play her? Would she play herself? Would someone else be playing her, and then she would be on set looking at herself played by another person? That operation, I think, is really weird. If it was a fictional take on her, that could be very interesting.”
“Spencer” premiered at the Venice and Telluride Film Festivals earlier this fall, receiving glowing reviews for its filmmaking style and powerhouse performance of Kristen Stewart. Both Larraín and Stewart are heavily in the awards conversation, with the latter seen as the frontrunner for best actress.
“Spencer” is distributed by Neon and Topic Studios and opens on Nov. 5.