Nicole Kidman to star in 'Danish'

Story based on world's first post-op transsexual

By Gregg Goldstein

Nicole Kidman (Getty Images photo)

Nicole Kidman as the world's first post-op transsexual, married to Charlize Theron? You betcha.

Kidman will star in and produce "The Danish Girl," based on the true story of Danish artists Einar and Greta Wegener. Their marriage took a sharp left turn after Einar (Kidman) stood in for an female model that Greta (Theron) was set to paint.

When their portraits become wildly popular in 1920s Copenhagen, Greta encouraged her husband to adopt the female guise. What began as a harmless game led Einar to a metamorphosis and landmark 1931 operation that shocked the world and threatened their love.

Anand Tucker ("Shopgirl") is attached to direct the feature, adapted by writer Lucinda Coxon ("Wild Target") from David Ebershoff's 2000 Viking bestseller. His debut novel of the same name is a fictionalized account of the Wegeners' true story.

The producers, no strangers to daring indie fare, are Gail Mutrux ("Kinsey"), Anne Harrison ("Two Family House"), Linda Reisman ("Affliction"), Kidman and the head of her Fox-based Blossom Films shingle, Per Saari. Blossom has several projects in development, including a biopic of bisexual singer Dusty Springfield set to star Kidman.

Kathy Morgan International is repping AFM presales on "Girl," a period piece that's taken on a very modern resonance with this week's votes to ban gay marriage in California, Florida and Arizona. Both the CAA-repped Kidman and the One Entertainment-repped Theron earned their best actress Oscars playing lesbian characters, in "The Hours" and "Monster," respectively.

Pre-production has begun on the indie film, but no details on a principal photography start date have been disclosed.