It’s hard to believe that just two years ago the world was waking up to Carey Mulligan. The actress seemed to come out of nowhere with her turn in Lone Scherfig‘s “An Education,” and rather than try and go for big paydays in tentpole or franchise movies, Mulligan has wisely opted to work with filmmakers instead. Jim Sheridan (“Brothers“), Oliver Stone (“Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps“), Mark Romanek (“Never Let Me Go“), Nicolas Winding Refn (“Drive“) and Steve McQueen (“Shame“) now grace her filmography, with Baz Luhrmann being added this fall as she shoots “The Great Gatsby.” And Mulligan isn’t stopping there, as Variety report, she’s adding two more helmers to the list.
The Coen Brothers and Spike Jonze will both be working with the actress on their new projects in 2012. The first is “Inside Llewyn Davis,” which landed Oscar Isaac in the lead role last week and will perhaps give Mulligan another shot to show off her singing pipes as she does with her memorable rendition of “New York, New York” in “Shame.” Though plot details are under lock and key, the film will be loosely based on the life of Dave van Ronk, an American folk singer who presided over the Greenwich Village scene in the 1960s, which gave birth to a new wave of artists that included Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and Joni Mitchell. No word yet on her exact role, but it will be the female lead, and the Coens are certainly shaking up their next project with some new faces, outside their familiar stable of actors.
That project is gearing up to lens in New York City in February and after that, Mulligan will jump over to Spike Jonze’s untitled film penned by Charlie Kaufman, with Joaquin Phoenix already attached to star. Marking the third pairing between Jonze and Kaufman following 1999’s “Being John Malkovich” and 2002’s “Adaptation.” Details are slim on this project as well, but it’s said to be satire about world leaders who gather to figure out all the seismic events that will take place in the world, from oil prices to wars that will be waged. This one will shoot in the spring of 2012.
So basically, Mulligan is going to be in at least three of our most anticipated movies in the next year or so. And that’s just fine by us.
