By FilmInk Staff
In a curious match-up, Hollywood legend Ellen Burstyn and Kiwi funny-man Taika Waititi will star in the Sydney-shot Place to Be.
In what could be one of the oddest, but potentially most heartwarming, team-ups of recent times, Oscar winning Hollywood legend Ellen Burstyn (the New Hollywood goddess of Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and The Exorcist and the late-career stunner of Requiem for a Dream) will star opposite gifted director and actor Taika Waititi (JoJo Rabbit, the Thor flicks) in Place to Be, which will begin shooting at Disney (formerly Fox) Studios and surrounds in March.
Written by multiple award-winning screenwriter Kata Wéber (Pieces of a Woman), the poignant drama about the last passions of life follows the unlikely friendship of an elderly woman (Burstyn) and middle-aged man (Waititi) as they travel from Chicago to New York to return a racing pigeon home. With Sydney sneakily subbing for the US, Hungarian-born Kornél Mundruczó (who helmed 2024’s White God, and previously worked with Burstyn on 2020’s Pieces of a Woman) will be at the helm.
“It still surprises and delights me to be working at my age, and I am thrilled to be going on this ‘road trip’ with Taika and Kornel… to return to beautiful Australia is a special treat indeed,” says Ellen Burstyn, who was in the country back in 2019 for an acclaimed performance of 33 Variations staged at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre. Adds Taika Waititi: “This is unlike any role I’ve ever done and I’ve always adored Ellen’s work. All of us are just navigating this weird journey of getting older and figuring out who the hell we are along the way, so when I read the script, I was deeply moved by Kata’s words and Kornel’s vision.”
Though Sydney audiences might have a little trouble seeing the likes of Alexandria subbing for Brooklyn, Place to Be sounds like a truly on-point project. Burstyn is beyond reproach and Waititi has a real way with on-screen pathos, which could make for a highly engaging on-screen pairing. “I had every desire to direct the legendary Ellen Burstyn in a leading role, not only because I admire her amazing talent, but also because the time has finally come to celebrate older women on screen,” says director Kornél Mundruczó. “With the immensely talented Taika Waititi, I hope I have found the perfect accomplice for this exciting journey.”
Stay tuned for more on Place to Be.
