StudioCanal Australia will provide development funding for a biopic of Helena Rubinstein, the Polish-Australian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist who established the iconic global cosmetics empire in the early 1900’s, the company said Wednesday.
Helena will be the first feature to be funded through the StudioCanal Cultivator Fund, which focuses on the development and production of unique Australian and New Zealand stories, which will “resonate locally and transcend to international markets.”
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The film will be a personal look at Rubinstein in 1928, when her business was at its peak with salons in Melbourne, London, Paris and New York. Regarded as the first businesswoman to beat the men of Wall Street at their own game, Rubinstein faces a challenge that forces a difficult decision — give up control of her empire or lose her marriage with Edward Titus and her children.
Helena is being written by Australian Writers Guild award winner Katherine Thomson and produced by Antony Waddington (The Eye of the Storm) and Marcus Gillezeau (Storm Surfers 3D). It is being developed in conjunction with not-for-profit script development company Scripted Ink and state agency Create NSW.
Greg Denning, StudioCanal head of sales and acquisitions and development manager says, “StudioCanal is delighted to be partnering with producers Antony Waddington and Marcus Gillezeau, writer Katherine Thomson, Scripted Ink and Create NSW in the development of Helena. It’s an inspirational story of a true social and entrepreneurial trailblazer whose worldwide legacy continues to this day. Helena’s timely story will no doubt captivate audiences both here in Australia and around the world.”
