Cinemas 12 Muses of Tomorrow

12 New, Exciting Muse-Director Relationships

'Vanity Fair' can't wait to see what comes of these partnerships
By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff Posted Sep 14, 2013 2:51 PM CDT

(Newser) Woody Allen and Diane Keaton (or Mia Farrow, take your pick). Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren. Quentin Tarantino and Uma Thurman. There have been some great directormuse relationships over the years, and Vanity Fair speculates on the next generation

At age 20, Jennifer Lawrence was the second-youngest woman ever to be nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award (for 2010s Winters Bone). But it wasnt until the ripe age of 22 that she actually won the golden statuette for her hypnotizing performance as widowed sex addict cum competitive dancer Tiffany Maxwell in David O. Russells Silver Linings Playbook (2012). Now the thrice Oscarnominated director, who has guided seven different actors in Oscar-nominated performances (with three wins), once again joins forces with Lawrence for American Hustle (December 2013), along with Silver Linings co-star Bradley Cooper, and Christian Bale (who also won an Oscar for Russells The Fighter). Needless to say, Russell keeps his award-winning affiliations close to his chest. And we think its only a matter of time before his newfound muse wins him his own golden ticket. David O. Russell guided Jennifer Lawrence to her Best Actress Oscar win for "Silver Linings Playbook," and next

Lena Dunham& Kirke up they're working Jemima on "American Hustle" together.

(Photo by Todd Williamson/Invision/AP) Lena Dunham has said that she's been "obsessed"

with Jemima Kirke since the two were 8 years old. Dunham tends to write characters with friends in mind, Kirke included. She directed Kirke in "Tiny Furniture" and created a character for her in "Girls." (AP Photo/Starpix, Dave Allocca)

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Anna Kendrick & Joe Swanberg
Anna Kendrick is starring in two of director Joe Swanberg's new and upcoming films: "Drinking Buddies" and "Happy Christmas." Swanberg has been in need of a new source of mumblecore inspiration ever since Greta Gerwig teamed up with a different director, and Kendrick could be it. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

Joey King & Zach Braff

For his directorial debut, actor Zach Braffwho rose to fame as the lead in ABCs off-kilter doctor series Scrubscreated not only an ode to his home state (Garden State, 2004), but also exalted the talent of up-and-coming Natalie Portman, having written the title character with the actress in mind. For his next film, Wish I Was Here (2014), Braff directs 14-year-old Joey King (Crazy, Stupid, Love, 2011) another petite, expressive brunette on the verge of indie stardom whom he met on the set of Oz the Great and Powerful (2013). We can only expect a character as lovably quirky for the newly minted teen star. And possibly Braff, an admitted Woody Allen fan, will have found his Mia Farrow.
By Alison Buck/Getty Images.

Mia Wasikowska & David Cronenberg

Mia Wasikowska, 23, gained worldwide prominence in 2010 after winning the much-coveted titular role in Tim Burtons $1 billion-grossing adaptation of Alice in Wonderland (2010). David Cronenberg, oft cited as the King of Venereal Horror, gained renown for exploring the boundaries of bodily transformations and disease. With Wasikowskas ghostly looks and quiet, contemplative persona, shes an oddly perfect match for Cronenbergs macabre sensibility. She stars in his latest film, Maps to the Stars (2014), alongside Robert Pattinson. The films subject, Hollywoods perverse culture of fame, seems apropos: Pattinson, who is currently a Cronenberg favorite having starred in his prior feature Cosmopolis (2012)was thrust into the universe of cinema superstardom following his title role in the blockbuster Twilight series; we can only imagine that Cronenbergs masterful eye will transform Wasikowska to equal measure.
By Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images.

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Hailee Steinfeld & Carlo Carlei It takes a particular type of woman to
launch one of the most celebrated love stories in the history of mankind. It also takes a certain caliber of actress, along with a notably skillful director, to bring Shakespeares Juliet to life. From Olivia Husseys iconic performance in Franco Zeffirellis 1968 Oscar-nominated masterpiece, to Baz Luhrmans career-making 1996 interpretation (which also put actress Claire Danes on the map), Romeo and Juliet has been a cinematic game-changer for both director and muse. For the most recent iteration (in theaters October 2013), 16-yearold Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld (nominated for 2010s True Grit) plays the seminal star-crossed lover, with Italian newcomer Carlo Carlei as her director. We can only hope that the inimitable pair, with a script written by Downton Abbeys Julian Fellowes, continues the streak of Hollywood magic. by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images.

Chloe Grace Moretz & Kimberly Peirce

In 1976, Stephen Kings story of an abused, vengeful high-schooler with telekinetic powers shocked and terrified audiences, catapulting actress Sissy Spacek and director Brian De Palma into cinematic stardom. Now Chloe Grace Moretz, who began her career with 2005s The Amityville Horror remake and also starred in 2010s Let The Right One In, reprises the title role of Carrie in this years remake of the classic horror film. The 16-year-old is paired with director Kimberly Peirce, who also knows a thing or two about depicting women on the fringe: she directed Hilary Swank in her Oscar-winning performance as a transgendered teen for Boys Dont Cry (1999). This will be Peirces second film since Boys and third film total, and we are prepared for an electrifyingly bloodcurdling alliance; fortunately for us, King also wrote a sequel. By Ian Gavan/Getty Images.

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Saoirse Ronan & Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson is a director notorious for stylistic precision, and for fostering a recurring stable of idiosyncratic muses: Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Tilda Swinton, and Jason Schwartzman, to name a few. For The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Saoirse Ronan joins the typical cast of characters for the lead role, bringing with her the ethereal, slightly regal disposition that made her so striking in the roles of a jealous young playwright in 2007s Atonement, a purgatorial murder victim in 2009s The Lovely Bones, and a juvenile assassin in 2011s Hanna. For a filmmaker who prefers his females rendered with a quiet, steadfast strength, the 19-year-old Ronan perfectly fits the bill. Coupled with a deliberately off-kilter, vintage-inspired costume, Andersons newest character is sure to join the ranks of Gwyneth Paltrows four-fingered Margot Tennenbaum (The Royal Tennenbaums, 2001) and Kara Haywards knee-high touting Suzy Bishop (Moonrise Kingdom, 2012). By Stuart Wilson/Getty Images.

Bella Heathcote & Derick Martini

Australian actress Bella Heathcote made her stateside debut playing Johnny Depps stunning paramour in Tim Burtons Dark Shadows (2012)a character so hypnotizing she leads Depps lovestruck character off a cliff. Twice. For her forthcoming thriller, The Curse of Downers Grove (2014), Heathcote, 25, plays a teen plagued by a highschool curse. Shes in the hands of burgeoning master Derick Martini, a director whose talents are already championed by Martin Scorsese. With a script co-written by 80s Zeitgeist author Bret Easton Ellis, the film may be the beginningto quote a cornerstone of American cinemaof a very beautiful friendship. By Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images.

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Lily Collins & Harald Zwart
Director Harald Zwart has recently made a name for himself with

remakes of two beloved cult classics: the sequel to Steve Martins Pink Panther (2009), initially realized in the late 1970s by the inimitable Peter Sellers, and his rendition of 1980s favorite The Karate Kid (2010). Its no wonder then that his forthcoming feature stars the progeny of another cultural heavyweight: daughter of 1980s musical superstar Phil Collins. But Lily Collins, whose career catapulted with her appearance in 2009s The Blind Side, carries a weight all her own; with delicate, elfin features and a trademark set of brows, the 24-year-old actress bears a striking resemblance to Audrey Hepburn, with talent to match. Zwart and Collins are due for a long run; the two have signed on for a series of young-adult fantasy films, The Mortal Instruments, based on the best-selling novels of the same name. The first, City of Bones, is currently in theaters, and a sequel is already slated for release next year.
By Ethan Miller/Getty Images.

Anna Kendrick & Joe Swanberg

Director Joe Swanberg is considered one of the paramount figures in the mumblecore-film movement, with his films often featuring noted mumblecore ingnue Greta Gerwig: LOL (2006), Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007), and Nights and Weekends (2008). But once Gerwig forged a partnership with director Noah Baumbach, following her role in his 2010 hit Greenberg, Swanberg needed a new source of inspiration to fill her shoes; enter Anna Kendrick, the petite actress who matched George Clooneys stalwart character in 2009s Up in the Air (for which she was nominated for an Academy Award). Kendrick whose sanguine persona offers a welcome reprise from the existential malaise often figured so prominently in mumblecoreis already starring in two of Swanbergs upcoming movies: Drinking Buddies (August 2013) and Happy Christmas (2014). By Paul A. Hebert/Getty Images.

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Juno Temple and Robert Stromberg
English actress Juno Temple, 24, has earned considerable accolades for her supporting roles in films such as Notes on a Scandal (2006), Atonement (2007), and The Other Boleyn Girl (2008). Now the actress plays a prominent role in Academy Award winner Robert Strombergs directorial debut, Maleficent, alongside Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning. Stromberg, the renowned production designer responsible for the epic, otherworldly environments in films like Avatar (2009), Alice in Wonderland (2010), and Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), now steps into the limelight, directing the revisionist take on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. For Temple, this just might be her breakout moment too. By Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images.

By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff Posted Sep 14, 2013 2:51 PM CDT & By Tathiana Monacella