‘The Favourite’ star will play Elizabeth Taylor in new biopic movie

A new film about Elizabeth Taylor’s journey from actress to activist has been announced.

Produced by the makers of The King’s Speech, the biopic’s screenplay comes from Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire writer Simon Beaufoy.

A Special Relationship will tell its story “through the lens of Taylor’s friendship with her assistant Roger Wall,” Variety reports.

Leading the cast as the classic Hollywood star is British actress Rachel Weisz, who was nominated for an Academy Award earlier this year for her role in The Favourite.

Elizabeth Taylor was born in London in 1932 to American parents and moved to Los Angeles with her family as a young child.

The new movie is described as “a celebration of how friendships can change people’s lives, and how Elizabeth helped change the world.”

Producers Iain Canning and Emile Sherman commented: “Audiences are clearly fascinated by the private lives of iconic Hollywood stars.

“There is no one more iconic than Elizabeth Taylor, and Simon Beaufoy has written a role that shines a light on Elizabeth’s humor and humanity, which will be beautifully brought to life through the extraordinary talents of Rachel Weisz.”

Elizabeth nominated for a total of five Oscars during her film career, winning awards with Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Butterfield 8.

The story synopsis from Variety reads: “Though famous for her glamorous lifestyle and multiple marriages, she also took a crusading role in the fight against AIDS, which stemmed from her hiring of Walls, a gay man who grew up in poverty in the homophobic Deep South, in the mid-1980s.”

A Special Relationship is expected to arrive in cinemas in late 2020.

The Favourite is available on DVD on Amazon.