The Picture of Dorian Gray is being turned into a feature film, with a twist: St. Vincent will direct a gender-bent version of the Oscar Wilde classic.
The story of the man who sells his soul to a painting in order to stay eternally young and beautiful is being adapted for the big screen by St. Vincent (Annie Clark), best known for her self-titled experimental rock album, in collaboration with Lionsgate.
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As reported by Variety, this version of the story, reimagines Dorian Gray as a woman, with a script by Elle scribe David Birke.
This marks St. Vincent’s debut as a feature film director; earlier this year her first short, Birthday Party, premiered at Sundance. It is now available to stream on Netflix as part of the XX horror anthology.
Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray was published in 1890, and has been the subject of several movie adaptations, including the 2004 version starring Josh Duhamel and the 2009 version starring Ben Barnes. The character is famous enough to have transcended the text in several instances, appearing in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and the TV series Penny Dreadful.
A new Oscar Wilde biopic is also currently in the works, directed by and starring Rupert Everett.