Witherspoon and Reynolds have been tapped to star as Margaret and Walter Keane in the Tim Burton-produced biopic about the sensational painters who were famous for their 'pop-eyed' paintings.
- Jan 23, 2012
AceShowbiz - Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Reynolds are set to star as artist couple in their next movie. The two actors have been tapped to portray Margaret and Walter Keane, whose doe-eyed children paintings became phenomenal in the 1960s, in a Tim Burton-produced indie film called "Big Eyes".
Burton will produce the biopic through his Tim Burton Prods. banner. The screenwriting and directorial duty, meanwhile, will be tackled by filmmaker duo Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. After being long-delayed, the film project has been scheduled to kick off production this spring.
Sharing their excitement on the new project, the directors said in a joint statement, "We are ecstatic to have this dream cast for our dream project." They added, "Walter is a larger-than-life antihero - charming, funny, dangerous, and a little crazy. Ryan will rock it out of the park. As for Reese, she will be perfect as Margaret - soulful, decent, transforming from vulnerability to learning to fight for herself."
"Big Eyes" tells the true story of the Keane couple. The husband-and-wife created "pop-eyed paintings", which became a worldwide sensation in the sixties era. They, however, had such controversial lives. While Margaret was the true talent, Walter stole the credit of her works and enjoyed fame under his own name.
The film will mark Burton's collaboration with Alexander and Karaszewski since they last teamed up in 1994's Oscar-winning film "Ed Wood", starring Johnny Depp. The three are currently also developing an animation film, which will be a new take on "The Addams Family".
As for Witherspoon, the Oscar-winning actress will next be seen starring opposite Chris Pine and Tom Hardy in "This Means War". On the other hand, Reynolds will soon be seen in "Safe House", which also stars Denzel Washington.
