Another Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton biopic is on its way

This one, commissioned by BBC Four, will star Helena Bonham Carter and Dominic West

Published February 12, 2013 5:45PM (EST)

Only months after Lifetime's release of "Liz & Dick," the Linday Lohan-starring biopic about Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton's tumultuous romance, BBC Four has announced plans for its own version of the love story. Expectations for this one are a little higher, though: "Les Misérables" actress Helena Bonham Carter will star as Elizabeth Taylor, alongside "The Wire's" Dominic West as Richard Burton.

The movie, "Burton and Taylor," will focus on the pair's relationship during Noel Coward's play "Private Lives" in 1983, when they came together onstage after two previous, explosive marriages, hoping to reunite. The play itself was about a couple who have come together after a divorce and discover that they each have new partners. Bonham Carter told the Daily Mail, "Elizabeth was 51 [when she took on the role in Private Lives], still every inch a star, still beautiful  and they still needed each other but this was professional." The two didn't marry a third time, but Bonham Carter says the movie is "about this sliver of their lives together. They were huge stars and they'd never been onstage together before."

The movie is to be released in the fall of 2013.


By Prachi Gupta

Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com.

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Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Bbc Biopic Dominic West Elizabeth Taylor Lifetime Lindsay Lohan Richard Burton