Sydney Sweeney is going where no actress has gone before.
She’s going to star in a film version of Edith Wharton’s 1913 novel, “The Custom of the Country.” Sweeney will play the aggressively ambitious and unlikable Undine Spragg, a force of nature on the page but so far not translatable to screen or stage.
This is the same novel that was going to be adapted by Sofia Coppola for Apple TV with Florence Pugh in the lead — until the studio pulled the plug.
Josie Rourke, whose only film credit is the panned box office dud “Mary, Queen of Scots,” is the director. Producers include Alison Owen (1998’s Elizabeth”) and British movie publicist Charles Finch.
The only successful Wharton film adaptation has been Martin Scorsese’s 1993 hit, “The Age of Innocence,” starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Winona Ryder. All other attempts to put Wharton on the big screen have failed, and no one has made “Custom of the Country.”
Also, in the 114 years since the novel was published, Broadway has also not welcomed any productions.
It’s unclear if anyone’s mentioned that to Sweeney, who also hasn’t had any experience with period pieces. She’s coming off two recent releases right now, “The Housemaid,” and “Christy.” She’ll next be seen in season 3 of HBO’s “Euphoria.”
In the old days you could actually imagine some wild, bawdy take on “Custom of the Country,” made by Ken Russell. How this will work out is anyone’s guess.
