Lily Collins to play Audrey Hepburn in film about 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'

MANILA, Philippines -- After years of fan cast calls, "Emily in Paris" star Lily Collins has been tapped to portray the late award-winning actress Audrey Hepburn in an upcoming movie. The film will focus on the production of Hepburn's iconic 1961 movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's" based on Sam Wasson's book "Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's and the Dawn of the Modern Woman," which chronicled the making of the film. Blake Edward's "Breakfast at Tiffany's," itself based on the book of the same name by Truman Capote," follows Hepburn's naïve, eccentric socialite Holly Golightly as she meets her new neighbor Paul Varjak (George Peppard), a struggling writer. The movie received five Academy Award nominations, including Hepburn's fourth for Best Actress.

"Breakfast at Tiffany's" won Best Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture and Best Song -- the latter for the famous song "Moon River." Hepburn's other Oscar nods were for "Roman Holiday," "Sabrina," "The Nun's Story," and later for "Wait Until Dark," but it was "Breakfast at Tiffany's" that truly cemented the actress as a fashion icon of her generation. Collins, her husband Charlie McDowell, Alex Orlovsky, and Scott LaStaiti will produce the movie for Case Study Films, while Brian Grazer, Jeb Brody and Justin Wilkes will take on the same roles for Imagine. "It's with almost 10 years of development and a lifetime of admiration and adoration for Audrey that I'm finally able to share this," Collins said on Instagram after her involvement was confirmed. "Honored and ecstatic don't begin to express how I feel..." Marc Gilbar, Sam Wasson, Brandon Millan, and Michael Shamberg will all serve as executive producers as Joyce Choi oversees development.

"Dickinson" showrunner Alena Smith, who also penned episodes of "The Newsroom" and "The Affair," will adapt Wasson's book into a screenplay. Collins has long been championed by fans to portray Hepburn because of her supposed likeness to the late actress. The calls reached a high note after Rooney Mara was cast to play Hepburn in a biopic by Luca Guadagnino, which has since been shelved. Apart from "Emily in Paris," Collins is also known for starring in "Mirror Mirror," "Love, Rosie," "The Blind Side," "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones," "Mank," and "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile."