The English-speaking world’s absolutely ravenous appetite for all things Wilde continues to grow. Rupert Everett (My Best Friend’s Wedding) has been cast to play Lord Goring (the Wilde role) in a film of the playwright’s An Ideal Husband. Wilde, a biopic film of the Irish author starring Stephen Fry, was recently released in America. Like Fry--but unlike Wilde himself--Everett is an openly gay Brit. Oliver Parker will direct the movie. Also in the cast are Gabriel Byrne (The Usual Suspects), Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting), and Julianne Moore (Boogie Nights). Filming will begin this summer.
An Ideal Husband tells the story of a highly moral politician caught between a blackmail scheme and the uncompromisingly good image of him held by his adoring wife. The play was given a highly successful staging on Broadway two seasons ago in a British production starring Martin Shaw as Lord Goring.
