Focus Buys ‘Mrs Harris’ Movie With Lesley Manville, Isabelle Huppert – Deadline

EXCLUSIVE: Focus Features has struck an eight-figure deal (we hear in the mid-teens) for world rights to feature Mrs Harris Goes To Paris, starring Oscar nominees Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread) and Isabelle Huppert (Elle), Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter), Lambert Wilson (The Matrix), Alba Baptista (Warrior Nun), Lucas Bravo (Emily In Paris) and Rose Williams (Reign).

Made in partnership with the House of Dior, the period drama tells the story of a widowed cleaning lady (Manville) in 1950s London who falls madly in love with a couture Dior dress, and decides that she must have one of her own. After she works, starves and gambles to raise the funds to pursue her dream, she embarks on an adventure to Paris which will change not only her own outlook, but also the future of the iconic fashion house.

Based on the popular 1958 novella of the same name by Paul Gallico, the story was first adapted in the ’50s starring revered British actress Gracie Fields, and again in the ’90s with Angela Lansbury, Diana Rigg and Omar Sharif.

This version is directed by Anthony Fabian (Skin), and written by Fabian, Carroll Cartwright, Keith Thompson, and Olivia Hetreed. Producers are Xavier Marchand, Guillaume Benski, and Fabian. Currently in post-production, the film’s shoot took place last fall in Hungary, before transferring to London and Paris.

Focus, currently riding high with five-time Oscar nominee Promising Young Woman, will distribute the film domestically and Universal Pictures International will distribute internationally. eOne financed the project with support from the National Film Institute of Hungary. Sierra/Affinity, UTA Independent Film Group and CAA Media Finance negotiated the sale out of the recent virtual EFM.

“Anthony transports the audience to the nostalgia and glamour of 1950s London and Paris, and the timeless fantasy of Dior haute couture, offering both Mrs. Harris and us a welcome escape from our day-to-day lives,” said Focus President of Production & Acquisitions Kiska Higgs. “We are overjoyed to collaborate again with the brilliant Lesley Manville and Isabelle Huppert, who fill the screen with poignance and verve.”

Upcoming releases for Focus include Morgan Neville’s documentary on Anthony Bourdain, Edgar Wright’s supernatural thriller Last Night in Soho from Working Title, and Robert Eggers’ Viking epic The Northman with Alexander Skaarsgard, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicole Kidman, and Bjork.

Fabian is represented by UTA, Ensemble Entertainment, and Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton. Manville is represented by Artist Rights Group. Huppert is represented by CAA and UBBA. Isaacs is represented by Silver Lining Entertainment. Wilson is represented by Agence Adequat, Reacting Talent, and Soli e Associati. Baptista is represented by UTA, Subtitle Talent, Elite Lisbon and Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson. Bravo is represented by Definition Entertainment and Morris Yorn Barnes Levine Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner & Gellman. Williams is repped by UTA, A&J Artists, and Brecheen Feldman Breimer Silver Thompson.