Carla Gugino to play Hollywood icon Vivien Leigh in biopic ‘The Florist’

Los Angeles, May 1 (PTI) Actor Carla Gugino has been roped in to play Hollywood screen legend Vivien Leigh in the forthcoming biopic “The Florist”.

Two-time Oscar winner Leigh is renowned for playing Scarlett O’Hara, the central character in 1939’s Hollywood classic “Gone With the Wind”, opposite Clark Gable. Leigh also played the landmark role of Blanche DuBois opposite Marlon Brando in 1951’s “A Streetcar Named Desire”.

Nick Sandow, known for his role in 2013 drama series “Orange Is The New Black”, will direct “The Florist”, reported entertainment news outlet Variety.

Screenwriter Jayce Bartok of “The Cake Eaters” fame penned the script based on a box of love letters.

The biopic will explore Leigh’s struggle with bipolar disorder in the 1960s, as she prepares to lead the Broadway production of John Gielgud’s Chekhov adaptation of “Ivanov”.

Gugino, known for her work in “Gerald’s Game”, the “Spy Kids” films and “The Unborn”, said she is looking forward to playing Leigh on screen.

“I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to excavate a woman as complex, contradictory, and compelling as Vivien. From the moment I read the script, I knew ‘The Florist’ was a journey I had to pursue,” the actor said.

According to the official synopsis, “Leigh collides with Joseph Penn – a WWII veteran and blue-collar florist who encounters Leigh on a delivery. At the same time, the star attends a local psychiatric facility for electroconvulsive therapy. Amidst the backdrop of madness, Leigh and Penn become each other’s sources of truth, beauty, and love.”

“The Florist” will start production at the end of the summer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.