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Rachel Weisz to Play Hedy Lamarr in Biopic 'Face Value'

by Alex Billington
May 12, 2009

Here's some news from Cannes. Rachel Weisz is "loosely attached" (courtesy of THR) to play the iconic actress Hedy Lamarr in a biopic on her eccentric life, particularly her less-publicized second career as a scientist. The indie project is called Face Value and is being directed by Amy Redford, Robert Redford's daughter who made her directing debut last year with The Guitar. Previously, Charlize Theron had been in the running for the role, but now it looks like Weisz will most likely get the gig in the end. The screenplay was written by Jose Rivera (The Motorcycle Diaries, Trade) and Gretchen Somerfeld (Interruptions).

Austrian-American actress Hedy Lamarr garnered fame in the 1940s for her luminous screen presence, most famously for playing Delilah in Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah as well as numerous MGM films. But she also was an accomplished scientist, helping to create a method of changing frequencies -- known as frequency-hopping -- that became a forerunner for modern wireless communications. Those scientific studies will be the primary subject of Redford's film. I'm know I'm not the only one who thinks Weisz is a wonderful actress and I'm sure she'll do a great job in Face Value. Expect to see this at Sundance next year.

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