‘Wild’ Director Jean-Marc Vallée Will Direct Every Episode Of HBO’s ‘Big Little Lies’
Jean-Marc Valléeis pulling a Cary Fukunaga. TheDallas Buyers Clubdirector is set to direct all seven episodes of the HBO limited seriesBig Little Lies, which will reunite him with hisWildstarsReese WitherspoonandLaura Dern.Nicole Kidman,Shailene Woodley,Adam Scott, andZoë Kravitzalso star. More about the Jean-Marc ValléeBig Little Liesproject after the jump.
In October we got word Valléein talksto helm the first episode “and maybe more” ofBig Little Lies, andTHRnow confirms he’s signed on to direct all seven episodes from scripts byDavid E. Kelley. Vallée and Kelley will additionally executive produce the series withNathan Ross. Also serving as executive producers are Witherspoon andBruna Papandreathrough Pacific Standard, and Kidman andPer Saarithrough Blossom Films.
Vallée joins an increasing number of directors who’ve helmed entire TV series. Fukunaga directed the entire first season of HBO’sTrue Detective, and Steven Soderbergh has directed every episode ofThe Knickso far. And David Lynch is currently directing every episode ofTwin PeaksSeason 3 for Showtime. Said Vallée in a statement:
I am thrilled to be making my TV debut with HBO tackling this material. After reading David’s amazing scripts, I spontaneously jumped at the opportunity to reteam with Reese and Bruna, as well as collaborating with Nicole and Per.
Big Little Lies, which already has a straight-to-series order, centers on three mothers (Madeline, Celeste, and Jane, played by Witherspoon, Kidman, and Woodley respectively) whose children attend the same school. Their seemingly idyllic lives are shattered by a series of events that eventually result in murder. Scott plays Madeline’s husband, and Kravitz is the new wife of Madeline’s ex-husband. Dern plays an anti-bullying crusader.
Vallée’sDallas Buyers Clubnetted Oscars for lead actor Matthew McConaughey and supporting actor Jared Leto, and a nomination for Vallée (for editing).Wildgot Oscar noms for lead actress Witherspoon and supporting actress Dern. HBO, meanwhile, won a whopping 43 Emmys at this year’s ceremony. In short,Big Little Lieswill be one to watch out for whenever it premieres, probably next year or so.
