Olivia Colman, Woody Harrelson to Star in Bob Dylan-Inspired ‘Girl from the North Country’ Movie for ‘Banshees of Inisherin’ Banner Blueprint

Chlöe Bailey and Tosin Cole will also star in the feature, launching in the European Film Market and adapted from the Tony-winning Broadway show by Conor McPherson.

Olivia Colman and Woody Harrelson Jeff Spicer/Getty Images; Lionel Hahn/Getty Images

With The Banshees of Inisherin becoming an awards season sensation with 19 nominations across the Oscars and BAFTAs, its production banner Blueprint Pictures has revealed the next A-list project on its slate, Girl from the North Country.

Based on the Tony-winning show inspired by the music of Bob Dylan and with its playwright Conor McPherson set write and direct, the feature will star Olivia Colman, Woody Harrelson (reuniting him with Blueprint following Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), plus Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter/musician Chlöe Bailey (seen on screen in Black-ish and Jane), and rising British actor Tosin Cole (Till, House Party). Blueprint Pictures’ Graham Broadbent and Pete Czernin will produce. CAA Media Finance will represent the film’s domestic sales, with Rocket Science launching international sales at the upcoming European Film Market.

Based in 1934 in Duluth, Minnesota during the Great Depression, Girl from the North Country is described as a “love story set in a time of adversity” and follows a group of wayward travelers’ lives as they intersect in a guest house filled with music, life and hope. Things are spiraling out of control for proprietor Nick Laine (Harrelson). His wife Elizabeth (Colman) is suffering from dementia. The bank is foreclosing on their home. Their adopted daughter, Marianne (Bailey), has a closely guarded secret that no one can explain. But when an escaped convict Joe Scott (Cole) seeks shelter at the guesthouse, a relationship develops between Marianne and Joe that will change everything for everyone forever.

The Hollywood Reporter‘s David Rooney called the Broadway play — which reimagines legendary Dylan songs, including “Forever Young,” “All Along The Watchtower,” “”Hurricane,” “Slow Train Coming,” “Make You Feel My Love” and “Like A Rolling Stone” — “brilliantly conceived” and a “rapturous act of theatrical storytelling.”

The New York Times described it as “profoundly beautiful” and the Chicago Tribune called it “a Broadway revelation!.”

After seeing the play, Dylan said the following about McPherson: “To be associated with Conor is one of the highlights of my professional life. It goes without saying the man is a genius for putting this thing together, and I’m thrilled to be a part of the experience. My songs couldn’t be in better hands. The play had me crying at the end. I can’t even say why. When the curtain came down, I was stunned. I really was.” 

Added McPherson, a five-time Tony nominee: “Having Bob Dylan’s trust to create a story using his incomparable songs is a huge privilege, which has brought nothing but joy to my world. But working with this incredible cast to bring these characters to life is almost beyond imagining. I’m also especially thrilled to be working with Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin and the whole Blueprint team who have given cinema audiences some of the greatest movies of recent times.”

Bailey is repped by CAA. Cole is represented by CAA, Curtis Brown Group, Sherpa Management and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole. Colman is repped by CAA, United Agents and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole. Harrelson is represented by 7 Deuce Entertainment and Ziffren Brittenham. McPherson is repped by Curtis Brown Group.