LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Julia Roberts will star as a paraplegic physician treating patients early in the AIDS epidemic in the stage-to-screen adaptation of the Tony Award-winning drama "The Normal Heart," U.S. cable television network HBO said on Friday.
"The Normal Heart," set to air on HBO in 2014, tells the story of the dawning of the epidemic in 1980s New York.
Oscar-winner Roberts plays Dr. Emma Brookner, who treats several early patients infected with the HIV virus that causes AIDS. Co-star Mark Ruffalo plays Ned Weeks, an eyewitness to how the disease ravaged the city's gay community.
The film will be directed by "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy and was adapted by the play's author, Larry Kramer, an early advocate for AIDS prevention and care.
"Ryan has assembled an extraordinary cast to bring Larry Kramer's landmark theatrical achievement to the screen for the first time, and we couldn't be more thrilled to bring this important film to HBO," Michael Lombardo, HBO's president of programming, said in a statement.
"The Normal Heart" debuted on stage in 1985 in New York and was revived on Broadway in 2011, winning the Tony Award for best revival.
The movie version was originally envisioned as big screen release before HBO took it up as a television film.
More on Kramer's play:
In 1981, writer Larry Kramer hosted a gathering of six gay men and their friends to discuss the "gay cancer," and to talk about fundraising for research. This informal meeting in Kramer's home would lead to the formation of Gay Men's Health Crisis, one of the first advocacy groups for HIV prevention and care.
Kramer's play debuted at New York Public Theatre in 1985 and was revived in Los Angeles and London and off-Broadway. The 2011 Broadway revival garnered five Tony nominations, winning for Best Revival, Best Featured Actor and Best Featured Actress.
Source:
http://movies.yahoo.com/
http://blogs.indiewire.com/
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