the private lives of pippa lee
as a young woman, pippa lee steals a husband, destroys another woman's life, and lives happily ever after, until, at fifty, the same thing happens to her.
synopsis
at fifty, pippa lee (robin wright penn) positively glows with feminine serenity, the devoted wife of a brilliant publisher thirty years her senior, the proud mother of successful twins, and a lovely and adored friend and neighbour. but when her husband spontaneously decides they leave new york for marigold village retirement home as a "pre-emptive strike against decrepitude," and then proceeds to have an affair with someone even younger than she is, pippa finds her carefully constructed persona unravelling in alarming ways. the truth is, the gracious woman of the present day has seen more than her fair share of the wild side: an array of erotic adventures, a diet-pill-addicted mother, a short-lived career in lesbian soft-porn, the glorious suicide of a love rival, until finding love and security in a family of her own. and now that cosy world, too, is in danger. in pippa lee we have an unconventional heroine and a fresh and funny portrait of the many lives behind a single name.
overview
comedy drama the private lives of pippa lee is rebecca miller's fourth film, produced by longtime collaborator lemore syvan and plan b's dede gardner.
miller has enlisted michael shaw, production designer on boys don't cry and you can count on me; declan quinn, dp on monsoon wedding and vanity fair; and sabine hoffman, the editor of her own two previous features.
as with her previous works, miller uniquely writes the book and the screenplay concurrently. the book of the same name has been published in the uk april 2008 through canongate and thereafter is released in the us by farrar, strauss & giroux, germany by s fischer verlag, france by editions du seuil, netherlands by de harmonie, italy by fandang, spain by anagrama, portugal by asa, norway by pax, finland by karisto, romania by trei, brazil by record with the rest of europe and the world to follow.
the film shot in Connecticut, for delivery spring 2009
biographies
rebecca miller | director and writer
rebecca miller's previous films as writer-director are the ballad of jack and rose (2005) which starred daniel day lewis, personal velocity (2002) starring kyra sedgwick - which won the grand jury award at sundance, as well as the john cassavetes award at the 2003 independent spirit awards - and angela (1995). she adapted proof (2005) for director john madden. miller is also an artist and in her early career was an actor appearing in films such as regarding henry with harrison ford and tv including arthur miller's the american clock. miller presently lives near dublin with her husband and their two children.
lemore syvan, elevation filmworks | producer
founded by producer lemore syvan, new york based elevation filmworks recently produced the soccer drama gracie for picture house directed by davis guggenheim (an inconvenient truth) and starring elisabeth shue. elevation recently completed sherrybaby, directed by laurie collyer, and starring maggie gyllenhaal, who received a golden globe nomination for her performance in the film. the film premiered in competition at sundance 2006 and received the crystal globe award for best picture and best actress at the 2006 karlovy vary international film festival. the national board of review named the film one of the top independent films of 2006.
in 2004-2005 elevation produced the critically acclaimed films the ballad of jack and rose directed by rebecca miller and starring daniel day-lewis and catherine keener, casa de los babys, directed by john sayles and duane hopwood, starring david schwimmer. in 2002 rebecca miller's personal velocity won the grand jury award at sundance, as well as the john cassavetes award at the 2003 independent spirit awards.
dede gardner, plan b | producer
dede gardner is president of brad pitt's plan b entertainment and her recent credits include a mighty heart, running with scissors and the assassination of jesse james by the coward robert ford. as well as the private lives of pippa lee, gardner will produce the upcoming the time traveller's wife, based on the international bestseller and political drama dirty tricks starring brad pitt, meryl streep and sharon stone.