A new TV series directed by Fatih Akin (The Golden Glove) will star Diane Kruger as the renowned actress Marlene Dietrich. The actress from Swimming with Sharks will be reuniting with Golden Bear winner Akin, having previously collaborated with him on In The Fade (2017), for which Kruger earned the Best Actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the five-part biographical series would be based on Dietrich’s memoir Meine Mutter Marlene. For his first excursion into television, prolific director Akin will adapt the novel penned by the late German actress Maria Riva.
Marlene is the rumoured current working title for the undertaking. To go beyond Dietrich’s global fame as an actress, Kruger, who is also set to executive produce on the project, has suggested that the series would attempt to uncover who she was outside of show business. Kruger said in a statement, “With Fatih’s creativity and capacity to penetrate within the soul of every person, I’m positive that this won’t simply be a series about the icon & world star Marlene Dietrich but most of all an intimate portrayal of this exceptional lady living through an incredible time.” Minimal information has been released at this early point, but Akin’s focus on Dietrich as more than just a cinematic star bodes well for a fully realised series.
Marlene was “not simply a movie star, but a lady in exile, a German immigrant to America, a resistance warrior, and much more,” he added. Dietrich, a Berlin native whose career spanned from the early 1900s until her death in 1992, was an entertainment legend. Dietrich was a multitalented performer who did more than just create an unabashed distinctive image by donning top hats, tuxedos, and fitted suits. Her role as the cabaret singer Lola Lola in the 1930 musical drama The Blue Angel propelled her to fame. The movie launched the actress’s career, and she went on to star in such classics as Shanghai Express (1932), Manpower (1941), and Witness For The Prosecution (1957).
Dietrich was much more than just an actress, though. She was incredibly progressive for her day in that she openly opposed National Socialist Germany and was ready to devote a portion of her pay to aiding refugees while casually flouting conventional gender boundaries. It’s clear Akin will have many opportunities to learn and grow during the show.
A premiere time for Marlene has not been set.