Mirren Prospers in Taymor’s Tempest

The always awesome Helen Mirren.

The Hollywood Reporter brings us news that Helen Mirren has been cast in Julie Taymor’s big screen adaptation of The Tempest. In a twist, Mirren will be playing the lead–Prospero, a role written for a man, will be renamed Prospera.

The cast also includes Felicity Jones as Prospera’s daughter Miranda; Djimon Hounsou as the slave Caliban; Ben Wishaw as the sprite Ariel; Russell Brand as Trinculo, a jester; Alfred Molina as Stephano, a drunken butler; Geoffrey Rush as Gonzalo, Prospera’s (it’s weird writing “Prospera”) former councillor; and the inimitable Jeremy Irons as Alonso, King of Naples. No Ferdinand, the young male lead yet, I guess.

Filming is set to begin in Hawaii in November, which is interesting because the NY Post has an article today about how Taymor’s stage production of Spider-Man is turning into a financial mind-blower: right now the budget is at $40 million, which would make it the most expensive theatrical production in history…and there’s no indication that that number is going to come down any time soon. I’m betting it’s more likely to go up (btw, early buzz is that the score by Bon Jovi is surprisingly good, but the book is a disaster). This show will have to do incredible business just to break even. It’s supposed to open on Broadway next year (rumor has it going into the Hilton Theater, otherwise known as the theater where plays go to die), so I’m wondering what Taymor is doing running off to do a movie in Hawaii. But I guess Taymor knows her schedule better than I do, so I’ll just have to trust that there’s a window.

I’ve always been disappointed by Taymor’s film work, especially in comparison to her theater productions. I don’t understand the gender switch of the main role in The Tempest; I’m sincerely hoping there’s a reason beyond just “Oh, I’d like to work with Helen Mirren,” because that’s not really enough.