Robert Mapplethorpe Biopic Starring Matt Smith to Shoot in July

UPDATED: Per Zosia Mamet‘s team, the actress is no longer attached to this project due to scheduling conflicts. Our original story has been updated to reflect this new information.

The Robert Mapplethorpe biopic “Mapplethorpe” starring Matt Smith is heading into production in July, according to Interloper Films. An intimate portrait of one of the most controversial photographers in American history, the film stars Smith as Mapplethorpe.

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Documentary filmmaker Ondi Timoner will direct the film, which she wrote based on a story by Bruce Goodrich. The movie follows Mapplethorpe from his rise to fame in the 1970s to his untimely death in 1989 due to complications from AIDS. Boston Diva Productions will produce alongside Timoner’s Interloper Films.

Timoner’s most recent project is the 10-hour docuseries, “Jungletown,” shot in Kalu Yala, Panama, a place that its founders describe as the world’s “most sustainable” town. The series premiered on Viceland on March 28. Her most recent feature documentary, 2015’s “Brand: A Second Coming,” focused on actor-comedian Russell Brand and his journey through addiction to becoming a Hollywood star and stand-up comedian. Her 2009 documentary “We Live in Public” about internet entrepreneur Josh Harris won the documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, as did her 2004 music documentary “Dig!” about American rock bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols.

Smith is known for starring on the Sci-Fi Channel’s “Doctor Who” and Netflix’s “The Crown.”

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