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Entertainment December 8, 2016
Step aside Scarlett Johannson and Jennifer Lawrence: Christina Ricci is the first actress to bring a Zelda Fitzgerald project to the screen.
The two A-list actresses were recently revealed to both be starring in films about the Jazz Age icon. But Amazon already had a Zelda-inspired TV series in devleopment and the trailer has just dropped.
Amazon’s “Z: The Beginning of Everything” stars Christina Ricci as the socialite wife of the “The Great Gatsy” author F. Scott Fitzgerald and starts streaming in January 2017. Lawrence is set to star in Ron Howard’s “Zelda” while Johnannson will play the leading lady in Millennium Films’ “The Beautiful and the Damned.” Neither of these movies have begun filming yet.
While less famous than the other Hollywood starlets, Ricci has been in the business since 1990. The Emmy-nominated actress is known for her roles in “The Addams Family” and “Sleepy Hollow,” as well as independent films such as “Prozac Nation.”
Why is Zelda so hot again, nearly 70 years after her death? Likely because the historical woman serves as a figure of female empowerment for today’s society. Her story’s revival also follows the cinematic trend of profiling powerful women behind famous men, such as Jackie Kennedy (Natalie Portman) in “Jackie” and Margaret Keane (Amy Adams) in “Big Eyes.”
In the trailer, when her husband introduces her as Mrs. Scott Fitzgerald, she responds with the quippy, “You can call me Zelda.” The show’s feminist theme is confirmed when the two minute video ends with the iconic quote, “Well behaved women don’t make history.”
Their unveil of the new female-centric show may seem ironic, considering Amazon recently cancelled their previous female empowerment drama series “Good Girls Revolt” after the first season. “Good Girls Revolt” was based on a true story, following the journey of women researchers on their mission to become reporters. Although the historical girl power TV show received high ratings from viewers, the company’s executives reportedly didn’t see its award potential.
READ MORE: ‘Good Girls Revolt’ Axed By Amazon
Amazon’s decision to run with “Z: The Beginning of Everything” may be attempting to appeal to both genders and draw in higher viewership. While “Good Girls Revolt” focuses on a group of women plotting justice against a male-dominated workplace, “Z: The Beginning of Everything” revolves around one woman who exhibits strength, elegance and sex appeal.
The series will be available to stream on Amazon in 2017. Watch the trailer above, courtesy of Amazon Video.
