According to Cineuropa, production on the thriller “Switzerland”, in which Helen Mirren will be portraying famed author Patricia Highsmith, is moving along. The initial announcement of the project was released in February of last year. Now, Dutch filmmaker Anton Corbijn, known for unique and award-winning feature films like Control, The American or A Most Wanted Man, is preparing to shoot the film. Parts of it will be filmed in different parts of the country of the same name. Production is expected to begin between autumn and winter 2024. Shooting will take place in several places, among them the German-speaking city of Zurich in the East of Switzerland and the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino in the South. The Swiss-British co-production will see a fictional version of author Patricia Highsmith involved in a stressful relationship with her ambitious literary agent. The US American author Highsmith, spent the last days of her life in Switzerland. Alden Ehrenreich will be at her side in the role of her agent. The script for the film was written by Australian author Joanna Murray Smith and promises a mixture of suspense and psychological depth, reflecting Highsmith’s haunting literary style. Switzerland is a collaboration between the production company Zurich Avenue by Karl Spoerri and Brouhaha Entertainment by Gabrielle Tana. Spoerri says: “Switzerland as a film location plays a crucial role in Switzerland. Zurich Avenue is delighted to bring the country’s unique landscapes and cultural landmarks to life in this international production. Switzerland is not only intended to be a gripping thriller, but also a visual event that pays tribute to the beauty of our country.” He adds: “It is a great honour for Zurich Avenue to work with Anton Corbijn, Helen Mirren and Gabrielle Tana. We are looking for universal stories with strong characters – often inspired by true events – that resonate globally. Switzerland fits perfectly with our vision.”

According to Deadline, Helen Mirren is set to star as celebrated author Patricia Highsmith in new movie Switzerland, whose plot will mirror one of the Tom Ripley novels for which the American novelist was most famous. Filmmaker and celebrated music video director Anton Corbijn, whose credits include Control, A Most Wanted Man and The American, is aboard to direct the movie, which FilmNation will be launching for world sales at next week’s EFM. In Switzerland, Highsmith’s late life solitude in the Swiss Alps is interrupted by Edward, a young literary agent who is sent by the writer’s relentless publishing company to convince her to pen one last novel in her wildly popular Ripley series (which includes the classic The Talented Mr Ripley). Highsmith uses her famously macabre imagination to scare Edward away, but before they know it a collaboration ensues, leaving the world they’ve constructed indistinguishable from their own. Filming is due to take place this year in Europe with additional casting underway. Dubbed the “poet of apprehension”, American scribe Highsmith is best known for her psychological thrillers including the Ripley novels, Strangers On A Train and The Price Of Salt, which became Carol on screen. Her work has been adapted dozens of times for screen.