Christina Ricci often favors playing oddball characters in her work, which is probably why she recently signed on to play a famous alleged murderess in a made-for-TV movie. The actress has been hired to play Lizzie Borden, the woman famous for standing accused of killing her stepmother and father with a hatchet-like item way back in 1892. In the time since, the woman has been remembered thanks to books and even some small screen projects based on her life and potentially murderous motivations. Now, it seems she’ll join the likes of Amanda Knox and Casey Anthony in becoming the topic of a Lifetime original movie. The movie will be based on Borden’s trial after the murders of Andrew Jackson Borden and his second wife, Abby Durfee Gray Borden.
Deadline first reported the news that Ricci was attached to play the supposed hatchet killer on Friday. Currently, the movie still seems to be in the early stages over at Lifetime, but the outlet is also noting that Nick Gomez is signed on to direct and frequent Lifetime collaborator Judith Verno is signed on to executive produce the Sony Pictures Television movie. Currently, the Lizzie Borden flick doesn’t seem to be rolling with a title.
During pilot season, there was a brief period of time where it looked like Christina Ricci might be returning to the TV realm. The actress signed on for NBC’s Girlfriend in a Coma pilot, but dropped out about a month later. It’s a shame; while I get why Ricci would want to try her hand at getting into the mind of a murderess and taking on a character like Lizzie Borden, I really wish we could have seen her on TV in a more regular capacity next season. Despite not really digging ABC’s boring airway program, Pan Am, I did like the actress on the series and do think she could be a good fit for television if she finds the right role. In the meantime, we’ll keep you updated as Lifetime continues to let audiences in on details concerning the Lizzie Borden movie.
