Tilda Swinton Reaches Out to 'Bridesmaids' Screenwriter to Join AUNTIE MAME Reboot

Back in January, BWW reported that Oscar winner Tilda Swinton is currently collaborating with director Luca Guadagnino to create a film remake of AUNTIE MAME, with Bridesmaids co-writer Annie Mumolo set to pen the adaptation. Swinton would play the title role in the movie.

In an all-new interview with Vanity Fair, Mumolo explains how she received an email from Swinton, praising her work on the Bridesmaids script and asking her if she would have an interest in adapting Patrick Dennis's 1955 classic novel to the big screen.

"[Swinton] is, like, from another world. She's one of the most intelligent people I've ever encountered ... Her emails are like works of art, truly. They should be published," shares Mumolo in the interview. "The way she communicates is just beautiful and poetic ... She asked me, 'Have you read Auntie Mame? ... Would you take a look at it? I want to see if you are interested in writing a modern-day adaptation.' I said yes, because you say yes to Tilda Swinton when she asks if you want to do something."

Read the article in full HERE.

The stage musical MAME features a book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. Originally titled My Best Girl, it is based on the 1955 novel Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis and a 1956 Broadway play, by Lawrence and Lee, that had starred Rosalind Russell. Set in New York and spanning the Great Depression and World War II, it focuses on eccentric bohemian, Mame Dennis, whose famous motto is "Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death." Her fabulous life with her wealthy friends is interrupted when the young son of her late brother arrives to live with her. They cope with the Depression in a series of adventures.

In 1958, a film titled Auntie Mame, based on the play, was released by Warner Brothers once again starring Rosalind Russell in the title role. Russell was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe for her portrayal.

The musical opened on Broadway in 1966, starring Angela Lansbury and Beatrice Arthur. The production became a hit and spawned a 1974 film with Lucille Ball in the title role and Arthur reprising her supporting role, as well as a London production, a Broadway revival, and a 40th anniversary revival at the KENNEDY Center in 2006.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos