Did you know it took nearly 200 years after the American revolution for a reigning British monarch to visit the United States? And that the first one to do it was none other that King George VI, the man Colin Firth just won an Oscar for playing in The King's Speech? Apparently it's not too soon after that Best Picture winner to tell another story about the king, and Morning Glory direct Roger Michell is moving forward with Hyde Park On Hudson, about the King and Queen's visit to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1939.
According to Deadline Michell is currently casting American actors to play both Roosevelts, Franklin and Eleanor, as well as his close friend and sixth cousin Daisy, with whom he's rumored to have had an affair. Michell's film, at least, will be about that affair, though the story will center around the King and Queen's weekend visit to his estate in Hyde Park. Film4 will be funding the project, after actually turning down The King's Speech to avoid the conflict of interest.
The fact that Michell isn't casting for the King and Queen indicates he's already got actors on board, or maybe that the parts are so small it doesn't matter. I wouldn't envy any actors who take on the parts so soon after Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter's performances in The King's Speech, but then again, it's no small feat to play FDR either. Way to make it a challenge, Michell!
